Hestia Familia in a Tournament
by Ca1piggy
Summary: Hestia and Loki, and the tension finally has bubbled over. It is a tournament in which the loser is utterly humiliated. I do not own Danmachi.
1. Chapter 1

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Denatus**

After DM15 and SO12, there was yet another Denatus. With the large number of members leveling, Hestia was quite the life of the party. Unfortunately for Hestia, she also had to protect many members from getting unacceptable names.

Loki "I think we should give Hestia's children some fun names"

Hestia "Flatsy, how dare you threaten my children!"

Hermes "Fun is good!"

Hestia "I am going to pulverize you later"

Hermes starts to back off knowing the beating he may receive. At the same time, Miach and Take voiced their support of Hestia. As it seemed that the tide was turning in Hestia's favor, Freya got up to speak while all the male gods had stars in their eyes...

Freya "I am also in favor of giving fun names for Hestia's children. Afterall, they are ranking up and need to remember that they need to keep us entertained"

Hestia thought "Oh no"

With Freya and Loki joining forces, most of the other gods did not object as the naming proceeded...

Ganesha led as he was chair today "First it is Liliruca Arde"

Loki "Hmm, something fun. How about Sexy Ears?"

Hestia "No! I object"

Freya "Come on Hestia, we are going to having something fun"

Freya "How about Fluffy Ears?"

Hestia thought "I am losing, but I must protect Bell even if Lili is sacrificed"

Hestia "I will allow it if I have more say for my other members"

Loki "Come on, we will give more fun names for all your members"

Freya "I agree with Loki"

Take "Hestia should have some say in this process"

Miach "I also support Hestia's position"

Ganesha "Hestia has 3 members leveling. Instead of having more say for the remaining 2, we compromise for 1 remaining member"

Hestia "Fine, but I get to choose which one"

Ganesha "Yes, and I am Ganesha"

Hestia thought "Haruhime and Lili will be sacrificed. I have no choice..."

As a result, Lili became Fluffy Ears and Haruhime became Sexy Ears, while Bell had a respectable name in Rabbit Hero.

Despite the agreement, there was much friction because Loki wanted to call Bell Silly Rabbit and Freya wanted to name Bell Freya's Pet. As Loki and Hestia argued, the tension almost resulted in a war game, though calmer heads prevailed. Nevertheless, there would still be a tournament between the Hestia familia and the Loki familia. This would not have the normal serious consequences, except the losing goddess would have to personally serve the winning goddess for 1 week.

Given the difference in strength of the two familias, Loki allowed Hestia to choose the type of tournament as well as the time. Hestia selected a round robin with 3 members of each familia, and the tournament would take place in 10 days.

That evening, there was much sadness at the Hearth Manor.

Lili "Fluffy Ears! How incredibly humiliating!"

Haruhime crying "Sexy Ears! All the gods will still think I serve Ishtar"

Welf "And a tournament with Loki Familia, we are going to get slaughtered"

As Bell tried to calm his members, he realized he is probably going to have to battle Ais, and that brought excitement, sadness and concern at the time.

**Allies**

The news of the Tournament spread quickly. The next day brought a visitor to the Hearth Manor, an elf who the familia was well familiar with.

Ryuu "Goddess Hestia, I would like to join your familia and help with the tournament. My status is convertible"

Hestia "Ryuu, you are welcome to join, but what about the Hostess?"

Ryuu "Mia allowed me to work half-time to enable me to adventure"

Bell "Wow, that is great Ryuu, welcome"

Hestia "Welcome to the familia, let me give you your falna now"

After the conversion, Hestia confirmed that Ryuu reached level 5. This gave them hope as they now have two 1st class adventurers. However, it was still a massive mismatch because Loki would likely choose Finn, Ais and another level 6...

At that point, another unexpected guest arrived at the door. It was Syr!

Syr smiled "Well, Ryuu, you are going to spend more time with Bell?"

With her ears burning red, Ryuu "Syr, I want to help with the tournament"

Syr "I understand. I was sent here to pass along a message from Goddess Freya"

Hestia "Freya"

Syr "Yes, she wanted to make an offer that you cannot refuse. Goddess Hestia, please go to her familia, and bring the 3 adventurers that you want to be trained"

Everyone "!"

Hestia "How would I repay her for such an offer?"

Syr "She is not expecting any payment. She just wanted a more entertaining tournament for her personal enjoyment"

Hestia thought "Freya must be up to no good, but we are desperate"

Hestia "Great, we will go there after lunch"

After some mild teasing of her elf friend, Syr told them that she will pass the message to Freya.

Hestia thought "This opportunity is risky, but Bell can benefit a great deal from such training"

They then decided the 3 members will be Bell, Ryuu and Welf. Bell would be counted on to win, while Ryuu would at least give her opponent a good fight. Welf, with his unbreakable magic sword, would go for 1 huge blast before his likely defeat. Unfortunately, Haruhime's magic cannot be utilized in the tournament as Bete was aware of the boosting after their previous battle.

**Arrangement of Convenience**

Hestia, Bell, Ryuu and Welf headed to Freya's compound, with Lili also joining the party so Hestia would have an ally during the training. When they arrived, the guards were expecting them, and they were led to Freya, with Ottar by her side.

Freya "Hestia welcome. So you have decided to accept my offer"

Hestia "I want to attend all of Bell's training"

Freya "Well, we can drink together while they train"

Hestia "That is great. Would it be alright if Lili joins us."

Freya pointing to Syr "Sure, my daughter will also join us"

Syr's relationship with Freya was a shock to Bell, but Syr smiled at him to indicate everything is good.

Freya "So Ottar can train the Little Rookie, while one of my level 6 will start with the elf. There is not much I can do with your level 2 smith. I will assign a level 4 to spar with him"

While Bell was amazed with Freya's beauty, he did want to thank her "Goddess Freya, I want to thank you for your generosity"

Freya "Well, you do not need to be concerned with any debts. I would like a better tournament"

As the fighters went to train, Freya, Hestia, Lili and Syr watched while enjoying their drinks. Hestia was really glad that Lili was there as Lili and Syr were well matched in smarts.

While Allen had Ryuu at a big disadvantage and Welf was quickly knocked out, all eyes were on Bell and Ottar. While Bell fought much better than a typical level 5, Ottar was much stronger and faster than him. As a result, it was a real beating, and Ottar was clearly not going all out. Bell had to take recovery potions frequently as the beating continued for a couple hours.

After a long break, the training continued after Hestia gave Bell an update. Ryuu continued to train with Allen while Welf continued to be beat up by the level 4. However, Bell trained instead with the sword-wielding Gulliver brother. Apparently Freya wanted to confirm that Bell was stronger than an experienced level 5. Indeed Freya's suspicion was confirmed. This gave hope as Bell was clearly stronger than an advanced level 5. After defeating one brother, Bell fought the brother with the hammer. That was an even easier win for Bell as he was much faster than the new opponent. As Bell proceeded to defeat every brother, it was time for another break and another update from Hestia.

Freya "So Bell should only train with Ottar and level 6."

Hestia "Agreed. May be he should train with the level 6 who is beating up Ryuu"

Freya "I think that is a good idea."

After making the decision, Bell would spar with Allen Fromel while Ryuu would train with the Gulliver brother with the sword. However, Welf's training was done for the day after he was thoroughly beaten up by the level 4.

Bell's training with Allen was useful, but Allen's nasty personality gave an edge to the training. An experienced level 6, Allen was stronger and faster than Bell, and Allen beat up Bell pretty good. This was however a good benchmark for Bell as Finn, Gareth and Ais were expected to be equal or stronger than Allen. After an hour of sparring with Allen, Freya saw enough and allowed Bell another break and another update.

After some food and rest, Freya had Bell spar against Ottar for the final training session of the day. What amazed everyone was the improvement that was clearly visible. Ottar was still much faster and stronger, but Bell started to respond better to Ottar's attacks, which made Hestia very pleased. On the inside, Freya was thoroughly enjoying Bell's clear soul shining brightly from the training. Freya also told them to keep the training confidential because she wanted to see Loki's surprise reaction in the tournament. After the training, the final update showed that Bell got about an amazing 5% into level 5.

The Hestia familia group thanked Freya and went out to dinner at the Hostess. They wanted to have a nice dinner after a very interesting day. Some relaxation was definitely needed as training will start again tomorrow morning.

**Hostess**

The dinner at the Hostess was really good, and they were really hungry. Syr also went over to join them as she enjoyed teasing her elf friend.

Hestia "Syr, what is your relationship with Lady Freya"

Syr "Goddess Freya adopted me when I was very young. My parents died, and she apparently thought my soul was interesting"

Bell "That is wonderful. She is a really nice goddess"

Syr "Goddess Freya is very kind to me, and always took care of me and protected me. She treats me like her own daughter."

Ryuu "I did not know that either"

Syr teased "So Ryuu, you are going to sleep in the same home as Bell and his friends"

That brought a blush to Ryuu's cheeks, as it reminded her of the 37th floor. Unfortunately Syr does not miss anything and continued to push her advantage.

Syr "It seems you are closer to Bell after the adventure. You never told me what happened in the dungeon"

Ryuu with bright red ears "It was very difficult. Bell saved me several times."

Syr "So that makes Bell your hero"

That made Bell and Ryuu both embarrassed. For Ryuu, having a hero had a special meaning. For Bell, the praise was very embarrassing even if he did not understand Syr's innuendo. However, Hestia was not pleased with the way the conversation was going and threaten Bell about cheating again.

As the meal continued, Mia came by.

Mia "It is good to see you up and about, Bell"

Bell "Mia, thank you."

Mia "Bell, I heard you are secretly training with Ottar"

Bell whispered "Yes, Goddess Freya asked us to keep it a secret"

Mia whispered "Yes I understand. Ottar is the King for many reasons, and you can learn a lot from him beyond pure strength."

Bell did not really understand what that meant, and Mia told him to also pay attention to Ottar's approach to battle. As they continued to talk, another large group came in for dinner. It was the Loki executives! Loki marched in with Finn, Riveria, Ais, Gareth, Bete, Tiona and Tione.

When Hestia and Loki saw each other, it was time for another confrontation... The confrontation started with sharp words, then progressed to hair pulling to an outright battle on the floor. Having seen enough, Mia stepped in and punished both goddesses. With the familia members stepping in to keep control of the situation, Ais came over to the Hestia table to talk to Bell.

Ais "Hi Bell"

Bell "Hi Ais, how are you?"

Ais "I am fine. It looks like we will have to battle soon"

Bell "I expected that you would be one of the three"

Ais "Yes it will be Finn, Bete and me"

Bell "I look forward to sparring with you."

Ais "I am sorry we have to fight, but I also look forward to sparring with you."

Hestia noticed the good mood between the two and stepped in.

Hestia "Bell, you are not allow to flirt with Wallenwhatisit, who is our enemy. When you spar, there will be no touching except the sparring. Especially nothing like a lap pillow for the loser. Do you understand me?"

As Hestia continued to yell at Bell and Ais, the other members smiled at the humor of the situation. The close relationship was also noticed by Syr and Ryuu, which filled them with jealousy.

Syr smiled "Yes, no lap pillow for you from Ais, but you can keep giving me lap pillows!"

That brought a huge reaction from Hestia, who now is focused on yet another competitor.

Hestia "Bell, you cheater!"

Bell "But she was not feeling well"

Hestia "Bell, no lap pillows for anyone except me!"

Syr fought back "Bell, we can also hold hands if you like"

Hestia showing Bell maternal affection "Bell, no touching for anyone except me!"

Syr realized she made enough of an impact, so she decided to leave Bell to Hestia's punishment. Ais also decided she had to go back to her familia's table.

After dinner, Bell and his friends headed back to their home. They wanted to go to sleep early as training starts before sunrise tomorrow...

**The Second Day**

Bell, Hestia, Welf, Ryuu and Lili returned to the Freya complex the next morning. Just like the first day, Freya and Syr were both there along with the trainers.

Freya was really happy as she was enjoying the training process. Beyond the ability to play with Bell's training, she got to see the pure clear soul up close and respond to her plans. Also, Bell's embarrassment in response to her beauty was also quite enjoyable. Hestia, ever the vigiliant one, also noticed Bell's response to Freya's beauty, and always tried to limit the amount of time that Bell looked directly at Freya.

Training again started with Bell vs. Ottar, Ryuu vs. Allen and Welf vs. level 4. Freya had Ottar and Bell battled without weapons mostly to get Bell used to Ottar's' superior speed. Bell was clearly faster than the 1st day and responded better to Ottar's attacks. While still getting the crap beat out of him, each fight brought improvements, whether it was recognizing the attack or delivering a stronger block or attack. However, without weapons, Ottar was able to go harder at Bell, which eventually resulted in knocking Bell out after about 10 minutes.

As everyone went to check on Bell, Syr and Hestia rushed to give him a lap pillow. As they both were dizzy from literally running into each other, Freya took full advantage and gave Bell a lap pillow, making her entire familia very jealous.

With Freya's first mover advantage, Hestia and Syr helplessly watched the lap pillow. Freya, with her flushed cheeks, did look like she was enjoying the lap pillow immensely.

As Bell rested on her lap, Freya also found Bell's white hair irresistible and started to comb through his hair with her bare hand. The warmth from the goddess and the comfort of her lap did contribute to Bell's recovery and he soon started to wake up.

Bell "Mom"

Maternal Freya "No I am not your mom, but do you want some warm milk?"

Bell "Ais"

Jealous Freya "I am not Ais"

Bell "Am I dreaming"

Happy Freya "You can call this a dream"

Bell then realized whose lap he was on, making him sweat profusely. At that point, Hestia stepped in and dragged the cheater up, leaving a slightly blushing Freya in a very content state.

Bell and Ottar started sparring again. The rabbit continued to be beat up, but with every practice, a small but noticeable amount of progress was made. After a couple hours, they took a break for potions and an update, which verified continued progress at the continued high rate.

After the break, Bell sparred with Allen, Ryuu was trained by another Gulliver brother while Welf got a break from his severe beating. Bell's progress was more evident with Allen as they were sparring substantially more evenly. While Bell was still beaten badly, he was able to block essentially all of Allen's attacks and got more counters in. After an hour, it was time for lunch.

At lunch, Hestia gave Bell another quick update to confirm the improvement, which also gave her an excuse to monopolize Bell for lunch. Realizing Hestia's strategy, Freya allowed Hestia to have her time with Bell, but also distracted them from their time together by asking questions.

Freya "Bell, you are making phenomenal progress."

Bell "Goddess Freya, thank you. I have a lot further to go"

Freya "Your progress is remarkable, but it may still be impossible to catch up to Finn and Ais Wallenstein before the tournament"

Hestia "Well, Bell always finds a way. I have confidence in him"

Freya "Bell, you can train more here, but why not go into the dungeon to grow faster?"

Hestia "But there would be a lot of time wasted in the upper floors"

Freya "If Ottar were to go along, you could very quickly get to the useful floors. Ottar, are there any floor bosses available?"

Ottar "No one has defeated Udaeus since he respawned last week"

Hestia "Bell is going to fight that monster?"

Ottar "Ais Wallenstein reached level 6 after defeating Udaeus by herself"

Hestia "If Wallenwhatisit can do it, Bell can do it"

Freya thought while smiling "Ottar, you are a genius"

Bell thought "If I can defeat Udaeus, I would belong by her side!"

Freya "Ottar can also insure Bell's safety if Udaeus proves too much."

Hestia "Fine, that makes sense."

Freya "To allow for enough time, you should leave tomorrow morning."

Hestia "Agreed"

After lunch, training continued with an Ottar session, then an Allen session and then a final Ottar session. The last update of the day indicated that Bell was about 10% into level 5, a fine result.

After that, the Hestia group went home to dinner, and everyone would meet at the Babel at sunrise the next day.

**Adventure**

The Hestia familia members arrived at the Babel, where they saw Ottar near the entrance. As agreed, they would not travel with Ottar, but instead he would follow them to avoid other adventurers from realizing that something was going on between the two familias. While they were on the adventure, Hestia would wait at home with members of the Take familia and Miach familia helping guard the Hearth Manor.

The trip down the dungeon was extremely different from their previous trip that nearly resulted in the deaths of all the familia members. With 2 level 5 and 3 level 2, the Hestia members confidently and quickly descended into the dungeon. Thus, Ottar did not even have to step in to expedite matters. The formation had Bell as the vanguard, Ryuu as the rear guard and the three level 2 in the middle. With Ottar trailing them, they could focus on what was upfront as they were quite confident that no significant monsters will attack them from behind.

The trip was not eventful. There were a group of minos but Bell made quick work of those. They did get the opportunity to test out Haruhime's new shield spell against some hell hounds before Welf made them self-destruct. After a few hours, they reached Riviria and stopped off to eat lunch. During the entire time, they did not see Ottar. They also did not realize that something invisible to their left appeared to be following them.

After lunch, the group continued to quickly descend. A nest of hornets kept Bell busy for a bit until he blew up the entire nest, while Ryuu guarded the level 2 members. Very soon, they reached the water city which brought back their fresh memories of the amphisbuena and juggernaut. Though this time, there was no calamity or floor bosses to be had. Also Bell's added level as well as Ryuu's added level made these levels a relative walk in the park. Welf did get to fire off his unbreakable magic sword, while Haruhime lent some of her magic when she also held on to the handle.

As they started the deep floors, Ottar joined in their formation. Bell and Ryuu both served in the vanguard while Ottar stayed near the 3 level 2. They defeated various monsters including a good number of bloodsaurus, Loup Garou and skull sheep. However, the extra level made a huge difference. Finally they reached level 35 and decided to spend the night there. Bell, Ryuu and Ottar took turns with the night watch, but did not have any serious threat to deal with.

The next morning, it was time for their goal, the enormous skeleton monster boss of the 37th floor. They did enter a colosseum on the 37th floor. However, Bell and Ryuu were able to clear their path out of the large room. The group then quickly reached the throne room of the boss.

After Bell and Ryuu had a short break and a couple potions, Ottar signaled for them to start. The plan was for Ryuu to keep the other monsters occupied while Bell battles the boss. Bell charged towards the udaesus, which caused the floor spikes to appear. Well versed in Udaeus' standard attacks, Bell was prepared and avoided the spikes. Having charged for 1 minute, Bell fired the argonaut firebolt at the boss, destroying a portion of its arm. That seemed to have made the monster angry...

The angry boss then summoned its enormous black sword, as it only have done so previously against Ais. As the monster swung its sword, Bell had to go on the defensive. He jumped, avoided and tried to outrun the bosses' attacks. The tenth swing of the enormous black sword did graze Bell, knocking him against the wall. As the spikes headed towards Bell, he was able to collect himself and continued to avoid the monster's attacks.

As the enormous sword chased Bell across the room, Bell was able to charge for another minute before he launched another argonaut firebolt. This spell was able to destroy many ribs on the monster, making it slower. With now an opportunity to attack the boss head-on, Bell continue to run until he had charged for 2 minutes. At which point, he activated argo vesta. The firey sword then impacted on Udaeus' arm that was holding on to the giant black sword. The resulting explosion destroyed most of that arm, effectively disarming Udaeus. But the boss was still able to summon more spikes, and so Bell was continuously attacked. Being able to avoid these attacks, Bell was able to charge another minute before unleashing another argonaut firebolt that destroyed much of the remaining monster. With the boss unable to move, Bell jumped on to its magic stone and destroyed it with the Hestia Knife.

Having matched Ais' level 6 feat, Bell was extremely happy and went back up to the surface with his group. Ottar was pretty impressed but he remained his usual stoic self. He did give Bell a few more pointers in having confidence in oneself and to attack without thinking about the Xenos. They reached the surface around midnight and returned to the Hestia home.

They found Hestia was still awake, and she quickly gave Bell an update. They were really pleased to find that Bell was almost half-way into level 5. In those 2 days, he killed over 300 monsters as well as the monster rex. With 6 more days, Bell still have a lot of time to make progress before the tournament.

That evening, Asfi reported Bell's progress to Hermes, earning her a pat on the head.

Hermes thought "Well, is that not interesting, the Hestia familia in an alliance with the Freya familia against the Loki familia. What will Loki think when she finds out. And the hero has defeated Udaesus, matching the Kenki's incredible feat. This tournament is going to be very interesting."

Asfi "Are you going to cause more trouble between Hestia, Loki and Freya? This is a really dangerous situation", earning her another pet on the head as Hermes pondered the interesting options and insane reactions.

That evening, Loki met with Finn, Riveria and Gareth.

Loki "There is no way itsy-bitsy can beat us"

Riveria "I do not see any path to victory for them either"

Finn "I have learned never to underestimate Bell and the Hestia familia."

Loki "True, I would hate to be in Apollo's shoes, but the stakes are not that severe"

Riveria "Though it would be interesting to see Loki serving Hestia lol", getting a good laugh also out of Finn and Gareth.

With their decision was to send Finn, Ais and Bete against the Hestia members, Finn would get Bell first to try for the quick knockout. Bete would get the lowest ranking member, while Ais would be the last goalkeeper to fight Bell if he progresses that far.

However, at that late hour, a girl with golden hair was seen leaving the Freya home.

**Progress**

The next morning, Hestia, Bell, Lili, Welf and Ryuu again went to the Freya complex. Freya was a bit late, but Syr and Ottar were already waiting for them.

Ottar "We should start. Lady Freya wanted Allen to fight Bell first to assess the improvement from defeating udaesus."

With Bell and Hestia in agreement, the sparring started. While Ryuu again fought with a Gulliver brother and Welf fought with a level 4, Bell squared off against Allen.

The difference in the battle with Allen was substantial. Instead of being outmatched, Bell was fighting evenly with Allen, which made Allen very annoyed and fight even harder. With neither gaining an advantage, the sparring continued for an hour. At that point, Freya joined Hestia, Lily and Syr to watch the training.

Freya "Well, Bell is quite the star"

Hestia proudly "Yes he is"

Freya "So he has caught up to an advanced level 6 in 5 days"

Hestia "We may have a chance!"

Freya smiled "I would like to visit if you win. We could enjoy tea together with Loki serving us."

Hestia smiled "That sounds like a good idea" thinking about other types of fun and humiliation that could be had.

As the fierce sparring continued between Allen and Bell, Allen's frustration was becoming more and more obvious. Only 3 days ago, he was beating the crap out of Bell, but yet after the boy went into the dungeon and solo'ed udaesus. And now, they are fighting evenly. Even Allen knew what this meant, that Bell will soon leave him in the dust. In 6 months of time, the boy has matched all his training and sacrifice for a decade. It is no wonder his goddess is captivated by the boy, which made it even worse.

After about 2 hours of sparring, it was time for a break. After recovery potions and a quick update, it was time for more training. This time, Bell would spar with Ottar while Ryuu sparred with Allen. In the meantime, Welf gets a longer break as his beating continued to be pretty ugly.

Bell's session with Ottar went better. He was clearly faster and stronger than 3 days ago, and the amount of difference was even difficult for Ottar to comprehend. Nevertheless, Ottar continued to be much stronger and faster, but the mismatch was far less severe than when training started. Bell was able to block almost all of Ottar's attacks though once in a while, an attack would still get through and batter Bell against the wall.

For Bell, he was also noticing his improved ability, and he was able to follow Ottar's attacks and started to think about a counter attack. Every time he was knocked down and needed a recovery potion, he came back stronger. His brilliance was shining more and more, which triggered Freya to almost scream out loud with intense pleasure. As it was, Hestia, Lili, Syr and Freya were glued to their seats amazed by the sparring between the teacher and the pupil. After another hour of training, it was time for lunch and yet another quick update. Hestia was planning to lose a lot of blood to buy Bell-kun every tiny bit of advantage she could.

With only 5 more days before the deadline, the discussion at lunch focused on what else could be done. Anticipating Bell's progress, Freya shocked everyone by suggesting that Bell should fight 2 Gulliver brothers at the same time once he has surpassed Allen. While a reasonable thought based on logic, it was clear that Freya considered that to be imminent.

After the lunch break, Bell started sparring with Allen again. After about another 30 minutes, Bell managed his first hit on Allen, knocking the cat-person down. Furious at the continuing turn of events, Allen attacked viciously, but as Freya predicted, Bell continued to gain and surpass Allen. By the end of 2 hours of training, Bell had knocked down Allen 5 times.

After another short break, recovery potions and another update, Bell started to spar with Ottar again. Of course, it continued to be a mismatch in both strength and speed. But then again, every time he is knocked down, Bell continued just to get a tiny bit better.

Freya "One day, Bell will be the King"

Hestia proudly "I do not doubt it. Bell works super hard."

Freya to Syr "Please bring that item to me" and Syr left the viewing area.

A little while later, Syr returned with an amulet that looked similar to the one she gave Bell for the Apollo war games.

Freya "Hestia, this amulet helps the wearer maintain his stamina. It is only good for one day when it is worn. Bell should only wear it on the day of the tournament"

Hestia "Freya, thank you. You could give this to Bell yourself."

Freya "I will give this to you under one condition - that you tell Bell the amulet is a gift from you"

Everyone "!"

Hestia "Why?"

Freya "I have my reasons but you must agreed to it"

Hestia "If it will help Bell, of course I will agree to it. Thank you."

Lili and Hestia gave each other a strange look but also realized they would have to discuss it later. After 2 hours were over, it was time for a short break and yet another update. The final training would involve Bell sparring against 2 Gulliver brothers, the one with the sword and the one with a spear.

The sparring against 2 level 5 opponents did not go well for Bell. He was all defensive, and was continuously knocked down. After 10 minutes of battering, they had to take a break and give him a recovery potion. The next 10 minutes did not go any better, resulting in a knock-out.

As the 4 ladies raced towards Bell, Syr somehow won the battle and was able to give Bell a lap pillow. Freya was fine with it, but Hestia and Lili were extremely frustrated. Syr pushed her advantage by petting Bell on the head, fueling enormous jealousy from the loli goddess and the loli supporter. Nevertheless, they suffered the frustration but immediately yanked Bell off the lap when he woke up.

For the rest of the hour, the beating continued. But Bell endured it, and he did learned to defend just a little better. At that point, the day of training was done, and Hestia did another update that showed Bell was about half way into level 5. It was then time to go home.

That evening, Hestia and Lili discussed the amulet. After Hestia assured Lili that the amulet was what Freya said it was, Lili calmed down as she was worried about some strange trickery. However, the two were perplexed why Freya did not want Bell to know that the amulet was from her, and they wanted to know what exactly was Freya's endgame.

At the Hermes home, Hermes and Asfi discussed the ongoing interactions between the Freya familia and the Hestia familia. While Hermes' concern was Bell becoming a hero, he did believe that the Loki familia was the most important familia for Bell to be allied with due to their superior mages. However, they could only keep observing and had to wait for an opportunity to change the situation. Asfi pounded Hermes over and over again to force him to recognize the potential consequences of being discovered. Asfi was really worried and knew that Hermes could not afford any mistake.

At the Twilight Manor, Ais and Finn were practicing for the potential matchup with the rabbit. With Bete being the fastest, Bete had to play the role of Bell, which pleased wolvie to no end. As Loki, Riveria and Gareth watched on, they were trying to come up with a scenario in which they could lose. After hours of arguing, the only such scenario they could come up with is a defection or betrayal. However, they were convinced that Ais would not betray them, even for the rabbit.

**5 Days Before the Tournament**

The next morning, with Welf deciding to create a new weapon, only Bell, Hestia, Ryuu and Lili returned to the Freya complex. Freya, Ottar and Syr were again waiting for them in the viewing area.

Freya "Good morning"

Everyone "Good morning"

Freya "If we continue on this path, Bell should be able to defeat everyone but the Kenki"

Hestia "We know she is strong, but Finn is an advanced level 6 while she leveled only recently."

Ottar "It is her wind that makes the Kenki so powerful and almost fight at a level above"

Everyone "!"

Ottar "The wind magic makes her much faster, provides a defensive barrier, and is an attack by itself"

Freya "Fighting multiple Gulliver brothers at a time prepares for the speed. Fighting Ottar prepares for the power. But the entire package is an unique challenge."

Ottar "You need to be able to use your own special attack just as the Kenki uses the wind. The same attack you used to defeat Udaesus. Your attack requires time to gather your strength. You must find a way to gather your strength while defending against her wind"

Bell "But I must charge up and rapid attacks prevent the charging"

Ottar "You must find a way!"

Freya "When you spar with the Gulliver brothers and Ottar, you must practice the use of your special attack"

Bell "Yes I understand"

After the talk, the training started. Bell started with the same 2 Gulliver brothers, while Ryuu trained with Allen.

Following the suggestions from Freya and Ottar, Bell looked for a way to charge argonaut, even if it was only 2 seconds or 3 seconds. Instead of just defending, he looked for opportunities to hit and run. Thus, Bell tried various tactics involving firebolt, rabbit combinations and escape. He was faster than they were, but with 2 attackers, it was nearly impossible to hit and run. Nevertheless, he continued to look for an opportunity by taking more chances. Taking those chances did result in Bell getting hit more often. After only an hour, a break was needed for potion and update.

The training then resumed again. Bell continued to try different ways of using rabbit combinations, firebolt and escape for another hour. Near the end of the session, he finally hit upon something that brought him a second of physical gap with his opponents. That single second of charging translated into an attack that knocked one of the opponents off balance, buying him another second of charging. This was clearly progress, and the balance of the fight had shifted. This was noticed by Freya, Hestia and Ottar, though Syr and Lili could simply not follow the action to that level of detail.

After another break of potions and updating, it was time for training with Ottar. The same tactic was a disaster against Ottar, and Bell was immediately knocked out. This time, the race to the lap pillow was a draw between Lili and Syr, who had to share the rabbit. Thus, one provided the lap while one stroked his hair.

When training resumed, Bell continued to try different tactics, but Ottar was simply too fast and too strong for these change in tactics. Bell was beaten and beaten again and again. After an hour with no success, it was time for lunch.

Freya "It seems it is premature to try to do anything fancy against Ottar. Perhaps we should focus on fighting the Gulliver Brothers and increase the number of opponents when he is able."

Hestia "He seemed to be catching on against them. So let's build on success as you have suggested"

Ottar "Bell, you should also practice by yourself attacking with only a short time to gather your force"

After lunch, Bell worked on short-term charging with firebolt and with his physical attacks. He was not used to it, so the practice did maximize his output and also made it more consistent. This charging practice did use a lot of mind, and he had to take a potion break after an hour.

After potions and yet another update, Bell sparred against the 2 Gulliver brothers again. He was able to follow the earlier strategy and was able to knock the brothers off their positions sufficiently to consistently allow a second of charging. After an hour of the sparring, the consistent hammering slowed down the brother to the point that Bell was able to charge even more. This vicious cycle resulted in a cascading failure for the brothers at the end.

During the potion and updating break, Freya had Ottar add an additional brother to make it 3 versus 1. Bell had to fight simultaneously against a sword, a spear and a hammer.

The balance of power quickly shifted against Bell. He was again beaten down. There was no time for charging at all, and he was back to being all defensive. While he was not knocked out, it was an ugly fight for him. By the end of the session, Bell was barely able to walk as the beating was constant and harsh. The last update did show that Bell was ~55% into level 5, which was hard to believe for even Hestia who was used to Bell's accelerated growth.

Freya "Well we know where we are starting off tomorrow"

Hestia "Yes this is definitely the hairy edge where he needs to train at"

Bell "Yes, I will do my best tomorrow"

When they returned to the Hearth Manor, Welf had created a new unbreakable magic sword to counter Ais' advantage using drop items and metals they found on their recent dungeon trip. They now have their own wind magic.

That evening, Bell continued to train his short charge attacks, both firebolt and physical attacks. With the amount of mind needed, he had to stop several times for potion breaks. Hestia and the familia watched as he trained into the night, trying to protect his goddess from an unpleasant fate at the hands of Loki.

From a nearby tree, Hermes and Asfi watched on. They did notice the white particles forming around Bell for a short time before the launching of the spells and attacks. Though they did not understand the significance of the practice for the tournament. Without an opportunity to interfere, Hermes had to be satisfied being sidelined for the moment.

At the Twilight Manor, Ais and Finn continued to practice against Bete. However, his thumb was hurting more and more, but he could not figure out exactly what his thumb was telling him.

**The New Sword**

4 days before the tournament, the same group met again in the morning to resume training. Bell sparred against the 3 brothers, while Ryuu fought Allen and Welf was bashed by the level 4.

Freya "Bell is doing a little better against the 3"

Ottar "His progress continues to be tremendous, but he is still unable to get off his special technique"

Hestia "Give him time"

At that point, they noticed Ryuu's use of the wind magic sword, which also surprised Allen.

Freya "That is a special weapon. I see that it converts the user's magic ability into wind magic"

Ottar "The sword launches multiple wind attacks, but it does not break"

Hestia proudly "That makes Welf special"

Freya "I see that."

Ottar "That may give Bell a counter to the Kenki"

Hestia "Fight wind with wind"

Ottar "You could counteract Kenki's wind with a wind from the opposite direction."

Hestia "Even if Ais' wind is stronger, you could make her much less powerful and slower"

Freya "Bell needs to practice with that sword"

Ottar "Allow Bell time to adapt to the 3 opponents before adding the magic sword"

Hestia "Agreed"

As the group continued to watch, Bell was starting to make some progress for defending against the 3 opponents. By the end of session, the beating was far less severe, with Bell able to defend against almost all the attacks. Although he was still totally defensive, unable to mount any counterattack.

At the same time, the wind sword did give Ryuu a slight improvement, but Allen the advanced level 6 still dominated the battle. Unfortunately, Welf was still beaten down and needed a long rest.

After the rest and update, it was more of the same training with the same trainers.

Lili "Even Lili can tell Bell-sama is doing better"

Freya "Yes, but still unable to counterattack"

Hestia "Freya, thank you for this training. It has made a huge difference"

Freya "It is my pleasure as I get to watch the boy up close and experience the stunning progress"

Ottar "See, Bell just made his first counter attack"

Hestia "Yes, clear progress."

Syr "Bell is a hero and so special"

Hestia "Yes, my Bell is so special"

Syr "My Bell is special also" making Hestia fume!

Freya laughed "Let's drink to a victory over Ais Wallenstein"

Everyone cheered to that battle cry, and Hestia was secretly gratified that her chief competition is now the enemy. Meanwhile, Freya continued to take in the beautiful clear soul as it shines and shines.

After the counterattack observation by Ottar, Bell continued to progress through the session. By the end, he was able to offer better resistance and no longer getting beaten down.

It was time for lunch, potions and updating. The lunch today was special as Syr went back to the hostess to bring back Mia's special pasta and fried fish. While the food at the Freya home was good, it was not at the level of Mia's specials. As they ate, they started talking about the wind sword.

Ottar "You will soon need to train with the wind sword. If you can stop or slow down Kenki's wind, you will gain a big advantage."

Freya "The sword princess would also be unprepared to discover that her magic is compromised. That is when you need to use your special attack."

Bell agreed, but it was hard for him to join in the discussion to bring down Ais, his love, savior and idol.

Hestia noticed Bell's mood and decided to press her advantage "Bell, make sure you put that Wallenwhatisit in her place. You are the hero and she goes back to Loki"

Bell nodded in a melancholy way, which was noticed by everyone.

Lili "Bell-sama, no second thoughts. Remember it is Hestia-sama's honor that you are defending"

Syr "If you win, I will give you a reward", instantly making Hestia and Lili worried and Bell blush.

After lunch, Ottar wanted to check Bell's progress by having him fight against 2 brothers instead of 3. With all the progress, Bell was able to put both brothers on the defensive quickly. The practice with the short-charge attacks also translated to quick powerful strikes that put the 2 brothers deeper in the hole. Very quickly, 1 second charge bought time for 2 second charges, to 3 second charges. With 3 seconds, the brothers were pushed back very badly.

After about 30 minutes of practice, Ottar changed back to 3 brothers. The battle had become much more even, though the 3 opponents still had the advantage. With the ability to launch more and more counterattacks, Bell was heading quickly to parity. By the end of the session, he was starting to be able to use firebolt and rabbit combinations despite fighting 3 opponents.

After another break of potions and updating, Freya had Bell train with Ottar to see if he could get off any of his special attacks. Unfortunately, Ottar was still too fast and too powerful. He was still unable to create enough gap to launch his magic or charge for even 1 second. Nevertheless, it was no longer a horrible beating as he tried to create the spacing needed. After an hour, it was time to go home, and Bell reached ~60% into level 5.

That night, Bell continued to work on his charging and started to practice with the wind sword. However, the longer sword was not natural for the rabbit, and he was not able to effectively dual wield a sword and the Hestia Knife.

Hermes and Asfi continued to monitor his practice. They were surprised by Bell's dual wielding of a sword and a knife, but could not figure out what the motivation was.

At the Twilight Manor, Finn's thumb was now throbbing, and he was getting worried about the battle with the rabbit. He shared his concerns with Riveria, but neither could convert the throbbing concern into a plan of action.

**3 Days Before the Tournament**

After one week of training, the 3 Hestia members have been preparing non-stop. In the morning, Welf again decided to work on a weapon and stayed at the home. Meanwhile Hestia, Bell, Ryuu and Lili arrived at the Freya complex.

Freya "I see the smith is working on another weapon"

Hestia "Yes he had an idea and started working really early in the morning"

Ottar "Bell should start against the 3 brother again. I believe he will be able to show significant progress today"

Ottar was correct. Being able to use firebolt and rabbit combinations made a big difference. That allowed Bell to search for a strategy that gets him the physical gap for a second of charging. As he continued to mix it up during the sparring, he found a couple sequences that allowed him to charge. Once he could charge, the resulting firebolt or physical attack then gave him the advantage to charge up more. By the end of the 2 hour session, he was regularly using attacks with a second of charging. However, with 3 opponents, pushing 1 back did not easily translate to gaining even more time for charging. That was a big difference that could require much more practicing to figure out.

After a potions and updating break, it was more of the same with the 3 opponents. Having improved to the point of launching 1 second attacks, Bell continued to come at the brothers with the pounding from the argonaut infused firebolt and physical attacks. After an hour of the same, the punishment was taking a toll on the brothers. Freya decided it was time for a short break to give them some recovery potions. Another hour of training predictably continued the trend. Bell had the upper hand, and was starting to bash the 3 brothers what attacks with up to 2 seconds of charging. At that point, it was time for lunch, potions and yet another update.

Ottar "Lady Freya, Bell should be able to take on the pallum at this point. The Kenki may still have the advantage with the wind"

Freya "I think it is time to see Bell with the wind sword"

Hestia "Bell was able to use the sword with his knife, but it was not that natural"

Bell "I could practice with it and see if it gets better"

Ottar "A knife and a sword together is not a natural combination. You could try it but also try the sword by itself", which made Hestia somewhat sad.

After lunch, Bell tried dual-wielding the sword and the knife, but the results were not good. Despite the advantage of the magic sword, the unnatural situation actually made Bell slower. In fact, he did worse against the 3 opponents even after 2 hours of sparring.

After another potion and update break, Bell tried to use just the sword. The results were better, but the benefit from the magic sword was compromised by Bell's lack of training with the sword. Freya saw enough after 30 minutes, and Bell went back to the Hestia knife.

For the last hour of training for the day, it was Bell vs. Ottar. Bell had clearly progressed from the day before. However, Ottar was still too fast and too powerful, and Bell was still unable to create a meaningful separation to charge for even 1 second. By the end of the day, the final update reviewed that Bell was ~65% into level 5, as the phenomenal progress continued at the same torrid pace.

When they returned to the Hearth Manor, Welf was waiting with a new weapon and a big smile. As if he had already predicted the results of the day, Welf had created an unbreakable magic dagger for Bell from the remaining materials.

Welf "This also has the wind magic, but it may be more natural for you"

Bell "Welf thank you"

Hestia "Welf, you get a reward for that"

Welf "I would like a date with Hephaestus as my reward"

Hestia "I will get you that date even if I have to beg for 1 week!"

Haruhime "Lady Hestia, that would be too extreme" as everyone laughed.

That evening, Bell started practicing with the Hestia Knife and the new dagger. The improvement was instant though Bell continued to practice until the early morning...

Still monitoring, Hermes and Asfi were happy with the change of weapons. They completely did not understand the reason for the knife/sword combination.

At the Twilight Manor, Finn's thumb continued to throb, but there was nothing he could do. They trained and they prepared as much as they could, but the 3 senior executives realized their fate and Loki's honor hanged in the balance with the rabbit's unique skills and the Kenki's wind.

**The Final 2 Days Before the Tournament**

The next morning, Hestia, Bell, Welf, Lili and Ryuu all returned to the Freya complex. Freya and Ottar were surprised with the new magic dagger, but it made sense. They were also impressed that Welf was able to predict the need for the dagger.

Training started with Bell vs. the same 3 brothers. The dual daggers made a huge difference. Bell had them at the defensive pretty quickly. And the wind magic also helped as Bell adjusted to actual combat with the new dagger and its magic. In particular, he often used the wind magic in a defensive manner. That was based on Ottar's suggestion for using the wind magic to counter Ais' magic in a defensive manner, similar to a shield.

After an hour, the 3 opponents were bashed pretty badly, and Freya saw little reason to continue the same sparring. While on the potions and update break, the discussion was on what to do next.

Ottar "We can have the rabbit battle all 4 brothers"

Freya "That makes sense, but he should also practice against you"

Ottar "Practicing against me would be incremental, but he may take some time to again adjust to an added opponent"

Hestia "That makes sense. Let's see how Bell does against all 4"

After the break, the 4 Gulliver Brothers ganged up on Bell, though it was not as bad as when they first added the third brother. Bell was bashed somewhat, but he was able to defend pretty well against all 4 opponents.

Ottar "The dual-wielding knives are a big improvement. The wind magic is adding a substantial amount of defensive value."

Freya "Yes, the boy is fighting 4 first class adventurers after only 6 months. Truly remarkable"

Lili "We are going to beat that Wallenwhatisit"

Hestia smiled "I have wonderful plans for Loki"

At the end of the session, Bell was still all-defensive, but he was able to handle the attacks pretty well. For lunch, Syr went back to the Hostess to bring back some special items again. This time it was more pasta as well as Mia's baked chicken with spicy sauce.

After the lunch, Bell went right back to training with all 4 brothers. Bell was still trying to find an opening to charge his attack, but that was quite difficult with all 4 of them covering for each other. By the end of another 2 hours, Bell was able to fight pretty evenly with them, but simply did not have an opening to charge up.

During the break, everyone discussed what to do next.

Freya "We should go back to training with Ottar. Even though Ottar is more powerful, Ottar is the closest equivalent of Kenki in terms of strength and speed."

Ottar "Lady Freya, I have to agree. The rabbit can now fight all 4 brothers evenly, but the situation may not be representative any more with all 4 opponents"

Hestia "Yes, I hope Bell can make some progress here"

Syr "Bell, you fight so brilliantly.", embarrassing Bell.

Lili "Bell-sama, Lili is also impressed with your abilities", further turning the rabbit bright red.

After lunch, Bell sparred with Ottar. Just as before, Bell had clearly progressed. Just as before, Ottar continued to be too fast and too powerful. However, the two warriors went at each other all afternoon. Even at the end of the day, Bell was still unable to gain any separation to charge. He was still improving though, and he reached ~70% into level 5 with 1 remaining day to train before the big tournament.

On the final day of training, it was more of the same training. It was Bell against Ottar all day. Bell still was unable to get off an argonaut charge against Ottar. Ottar still had a big advantage in speed and particularly in strength. But the rabbit had drastically narrowed the gap. It was obvious to all that the next big step may be when Bell reaches level 6, which he was already 75% of the way there as of the final update.

Dinner was served at the Freya home that evening. No one could predict the outcome, but the results from the 10 days of training were phenomenal. A celebration was in order. Freya had one of the finest restaurants cook a special meal for the group. During the amazing meal, everyone talked about the accomplishments over the brief period.

Freya "Bell, you are truly brilliant. I cannot wait to watch your battle tomorrow"

Embarrassed Bell "Thank you Lady Freya, that means a lot to me"

Hestia "Bell, you are going to beat the Loki adventurers including that Wallenwhatisit"

Lili "Bell-sama, Lili will be praying to Hestia for you"

Freya "Bell, what drives you so hard?"

Bell "I guess I have a goal that I want to reach no matter what", drawing a sad response from Hestia and Lili.

Freya noticed the reaction and questioned further "What is that goal Bell?"

Embarrassed Bell knowing he could not lie "Well Ais saved me when I started out, and I wanted to be able to catch up to her"

Freya "I see. I think you may have just done that. Congratulations."

Freya "What happens once you have attained your goal, if you defeat her tomorrow?

Bell "I really have not thought that far. I guess things happened so fast that I did not have a lot of time to think about what is next"

Freya "Well, here is a worth-while goal. I want to finish the final quest of the 3 Grand Quests. Would you like to join us in this goal"

Bell "Lady Freya, it is such an honor for you to ask me."

Hestia interjected "But no one knows where the dragon is. And no one knows how to defeat it"

Freya "Well, my familia is interested in completing this quest. We would be interested in having Bell join, or even members of the Loki familia."

Bell "Well, I am certainly interested", worrying Hestia and Lili.

Freya raised her glass "Well we can discuss that after your victory!"

Hestia "To victory over Loki and Wallenwhatisit"

Lili "To victory"

As everyone cheered, Bell still felt uncomfortable with making Ais the enemy. Nevertheless, he went along and hope that tomorrow would result in better relations by having better communications with the Loki familia.

That night, Bell only practiced for an hour to stay fresh for the upcoming battle. Welf and Ryuu also rested in preparation of the tournment.

Still monitoring, Hermes and Asfi were unsure of the progress for the rabbit. Though they were pretty sure that the progress was pretty substantial.

At the Twilight Manor, Finn, Riveria and Gareth watched Ais and Bete train against each other. Finn's thumb hurt more than ever, but he only had 1 more day to suffer.

**Tournament Has Arrived**

It was the day of the big tournament. The main announcer was again Ibri, though they replaced Ganesha with Hephaestus for commentary.

The stadium was packed with fans that were mostly pro-Loki. As such, the Loki familia received huge cheers when they entered. In contrast, there were only a few Little Rookie cheers when the Hestia familia entered. The biased fans did annoy Hestia, but she vowed that Bell was about to win over many fans.

Ibri got down to business quickly as he introduced Loki and Hestia, who spoke for their familias. The 2 sides were seated on opposite ends of the colosseum, and both goddesses were able to stay with their familias as their images were broadcasted all over the colosseum and all over Orario.

Ibri "Today, we are gathered for a friendly tournament between the famous and magnificent Loki familia and the upstart but rapidly advancing Hestia familia. The goddess of the winning familia will receive the personal services of the losing familia's goddess for 1 week. There is no other reward or penalty."

Ibri "First, there will be a fun part of the tournament to get everyone in the mood. This fun part features a game called Pie Thief. The game will be played by the captains of the 2 familias, Finn Deimne and Bell Cranel. After the game, the contestants will receive medical care if needed from the Dian Cecht familia located near the action, and then we will get to our main event between the 2 familias."

Ibri "The goal of the Pie Thief game is to steal as many pies as possible within 10 minutes without getting caught. However, the Boss is in the kitchen and if she catches you, you will have to fight your way out of punishment. Anyone who defeats the Boss within the time limit gets a reward of 10 extra pies. No weapons are allowed except for whatever is in the kitchen. Both captains have 10 minutes to steal pies from the Hostess of Fertility. Hidden behind those curtains, the Hostess has been borrowed for this game. And finally, the winning captain can donate all the pies to the charity of his choice!"

With the added game, the crowd went wild thinking about Mia's role in the game. Perhaps it was something they all wanted to do. Perhaps they were hoping for someone defeating Mia. However, Asfi was surprised by the weird game but suspected Hermes was up to no good.

Asfi "Did you create this insane game?"

Hermes "I always wanted to steal food from Mia lol"

Asfi "You are unbelievable."

Hermes "Mia is getting a huge payment for lending the Hostess for the game. Also, stealing Mia's pies may be a good use of Hades' Hat"

Asfi "You will not use serious equipment for this nonsense!"

Hermes patted her on the head which made Asfi even more annoyed.

Ibri "So Finn Deimne will get the first crack at Momma Mia's pies. As you can see now that the curtains have been lifted, the outer walls of the Hostess have been removed so you can see inside. You can also see that Momma Mia is cooking, but there are over 100 pies all around the kitchen area. For those of you who are going to place bets, this is your last chance"

Ibri "Ok, Finn, please get in position behind the walled area."

Ibri "3-2-1- go"

With the start, Finn sneaked behind Mia's view. He quickly stole 2 pies and ran to deposit the pies behind the walled area. It was tricky because Mia is aware of the thief so he has to run behind her back while using various kitchen benches, furniture and counters as cover. Noticing that 2 pies were stolen, Mia started actively searching for the thief.

After 3 minutes, Finn had banked 8 pies behind the wall, which drew a lot of applause from the crowd. His familia was really enjoying the show, and Tione was cheering her love on. Loki was ROTFLOL and even Lefiya was laughing at the spectacle. Bell watched how skillful Finn was so he was now feeling the pressure to beat Finn's number.

After 5 minutes, Finn had banked 14 pies behind the wall. Momma was looking really angry as she could not find the thief. There was a moment where it looked like Momma found Finn, but he was too fast and agile, managing to hide behind a few tables.

After 7 minutes, Finn had banked 20 pies, making Momma even angrier. As Mia ran around the kitchen looking for the thief, Finn continued to utilize his superior speed and agility in avoiding the Boss. Finally, at the time limit, Finn had banked an amazing 28 pies, making Bell's job really difficult.

Ibri "Let's put together our hands together for Captain Finn Deimne for an amazing loot of 28 pies"

Ibri "Now it is Bell Cranel's turn. We will first replace the pies so Bell gets the same opportunity as Finn"

Hestia to Lili "Bell has his work cut out for him"

Lili smiled "Don't worry. This is perfect for his Escape"

After the pies were replaced, Bell took his position behind the wall. Ibri then gave him the go-ahead and the pie thief started his villainy.

Bell was absolutely amazing as the pie thief. After 2 minutes, Bell had already banked 8 pies behind the wall, which started to get Tione and Loki worried. Hestia and her familia were really amazed by Bell's speed running around the kitchen. Welf was talking about Bell's second occupation. Even the Loki familia were amazed at Bell's skill.

Fed up with losing pies to the thief, Mia already started running around the kitchen. Despite the difficult circumstances, Bell had banked 15 pies within 4 minutes and 19 pies within 5 minutes.

Completely frustrated, Momma then started kicking the furniture and knocked over a couple counters. This posed a difficult problem as Bell no longer had enough places to hide as he ran around the kitchen. Nevertheless, he was still able to bank 22 pies in less than 6 minutes.

However, at the 6th minute mark, Momma was finally able to discover Bell's location with the lack of cover, and the battle was on. Knives went flying. Furniture went flying. It was the big battle that many wanted to see!

As they each grasped kitchen knives for their battle, it completely captured the audience's attention. Everyone forgot to cheer, and instead the quiet crowd was focused solely on Mia's power and the rabbit's quickness. However, kitchen knives quickly broke, and it was down to hand to hand combat.

Bell knew he had to move quickly as he was behind in pies with less than 4 minutes to defeat Mia. Advanced adventurers could tell Mia was fighting at an advanced level 6 even though she was out of practice. And everyone was equally amazed that the battle was pretty even.

With only 1 minute left, Bell had to use his skills. Using his speed to get to her side, he was able to throw a thick blueberry pie in her face. Even though Mia threw the pie off, the thick blueberry sauce effectively blinded her, enabling Bell to deliver a punch with a 10 second charge, knocking Mia out!

Ibri "Wow, can you believe it? Captain Bell Cranel knocked out Momma Mia within the time limit. That gives Hestia team a total Pie Count of 32. Team Hestia wins!"

The crowd applauded loudly as everyone seemed to enjoy the game. Bell was given a couple potions while Mia was helped off the field.

Ibri "After a 10 minute break, the main event will start!"


	2. Chapter 2

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**The Main Event**

During the 10 minute break, Hestia took Bell to the dressing area and gave him a quick update. A small but noticeable improvement was derived from the short battle with Mia! At the same time, Hestia also gave Freya's amulet to Bell.

Bell "What is this?"

Hestia "It will help you maintain your stamina during the fight"

Bell "Thank you goddess!" making Hestia slightly uncomfortable.

When they returned, Syr was serving pies to their familia, complements of Momma Mia who had recovered.

Syr's smile deepened when she saw Bell wearing the amulet.

Syr "Bell, some pie for energy and good luck"

Of course, the Loki familia, the Hostess' best customers, also received pies from Mia. Bete wanted alcohol also but was quickly denied by Riveria.

After the break was over, it was time for the tournament to start. Loki sent out Bete, and Hestia decided last minute to counter with Ryuu because she thought chances against Bete were slightly better than chances against Ais.

Ibri "So we have a contest of speed vs speed. It is Bete the Vanargand vs Ryuu. If you are going to make a bet, this is your last chance."

The fight soon started out with some quick dagger vs. sword action, with Bete having the quick upper hand. Realizing this was not going well, Ryuu jumped back and utilized Welf's fire magic sword's attack. The huge wave of fire, however, was not able to defeat Bete, who was able to absorb and resist it. He then sent it back to Ryuu with a kick, knocking her out.

Ibri "Wow, that was quick. The wolf took out the elf with a magic infused kick. We will wait while medical staff treat the elf and take a 10 minute break."

The crowd cheered the knock-out though seemed concerned to see the cute elf being treated. However, after a couple potions and a lap pillow from Syr, Ryuu woke up to a big applause.

In the Loki corner, morale was high though everyone expected Bete to win. On the Hestia side, they did expect Ryuu to lose, but the quick loss was depressing. However the mood quickly picked up when Ryuu rejoined them with an embarrassed expression.

Ryuu "Sorry, I did not put up much of a fight."

Bell "Do not worry. We really need to remember Bete's ability to absorb magic. Thanks"

After the break was over, it was time for the next battle. Loki sent out Finn with a painful thumb, and Hestia countered with Bell. Hestia wanted Bell to get as many battles as possible before Ais, who they thought would be the toughest with Ariel.

Ibri "This is unexpected, but we are already getting a fight between the captains, Finn Deimne and Bell Cranel, so early. Looks like Hestia is gambling here. If you are going to make a bet, this is your last chance."

Finn with a throbbing thumb "Bell, this is the first time I had the chance to spar with you. Good luck."

Bell "Thank you, Finn. Good luck to you also"

Finn and Bell soon squared off spear versus dual daggers. The fight was quite even. Finn had more experience, though it seemed Bell was stronger. They both were very agile, but Bell also seemed to have more speed as was seen in the Pie Thief game. However, the fight was going to be a long one. Despite the high speed action, neither went to their special attacks. The feeling out period went on for a while with both combatants enjoying the fight.

Finn "Bell, you have improved so much. It is hard for me to believe"

Bell "Finn, thank you. Your spear technique is amazing."

Bell was fortunate that he had experience fighting Allen who also used a spear, while Finn trained with Bete who used dual daggers. As the two continued to spar and feel each other out, the crowd was going wild.

Tione "Finn, beat the rabbit"

Loki "Roast the rabbit"

Ais and Tiona were torn in the battle, with Ais seemingly in deep thought about the tournament. At the same time, Hestia and Lili were cheering like crazy, while Welf, Ryuu and Mikoto were more nervous than everything else.

Freya could be seen sitting in a luxury booth with Ottar by her side. She was enjoying the fight, taking in every strike and counter.

Freya "The boy is well prepared. You did well"

Ottar "Yes, the rabbit is stronger than the pallum. As they become familiar with each other's style, the rabbit should gain the upper hand. Though the turning point will soon come when they use their special techniques."

As Ottar predicted, after about 10 minutes of careful sparring, Bell was gaining an upper hand. His stronger attacks were starting to push Finn back. The Loki team were getting worried as they could tell Bell is stronger.

Loki "How is it possible a new level 5 is stronger than an advanced level 6?"

Riveria "Bell is not a normal level 5. He is easily fighting like an advanced level 6, if not higher"

Loki "Good lord, what is going to happen"

Riveria "Ais, he is stronger than you right now. Do you think you can use Ariel against Bell, if it comes to that?"

Ais "I don't know"

Loki thought "Wow, this must be tough on Ais. She has feelings for the rabbit, but everyone knows how dangerous Ariel is. Finn may well lose..."

After another ten minutes, Bell was really pushing back Finn, which quieted the crowd. Most could not believe it with the clear level difference. Realizing that he needed to change the game, Finn activated Hell Finegas. Finn's magic made a big difference, as the berserk pallum was stronger and faster, raining attacks on Bell. However, the sparring with the Freya members really prepared for this, and Bell was able to withstand Finn's attacks. Thus the battle continued at the new pace, with Bell content to fight carefully while Finn was attacking in a frightening way.

After another ten minutes, the two continue to battle evenly as Bell had adjusted to the Pallum's attacks. The crowd was getting restless with the long battle, but the Loki side was getting really worried. They knew that Finn has used his trump card, but Bell had not"

Loki "This rabbit is frightening. Ais, what will he do next?"

Ais "Bell has this attack where he gathers his strength. Though the pace of battle may not allow Bell to gather his strength"

Riveria "That would then become a battle of attrition, which would favor Bell who is stronger"

As predicted, the battle favored Bell, who fought evenly despite not having used argonaut. However, Bell have become adjusted to Finn's techniques and he was starting to become more aggressive. Utilizing what he learned to buy a second to charge up, Bell was able to use an 1 sec charged firebolt to knock Finn back. That allowed time for another 1 second charged firebolt. Then another 1 second charged firebolt. Then another, and another and another. Sensing the win, Bell then slashed with the Hestia knife and hit Finn with a 1 second charged elbow that knocked Finn out!

Ibri "Captain Finn Deimne the Braver has been knocked out. Ladies and Gentlemen, what an unbelievable result. A level 5 has defeated a level 6 and the captain of the Loki familia. We will take a 10 minute break as the medical staff attend to the Braver"

The crowd was totally silent as they were shocked with the Loki captain defeated. Tione was crying and Tiona was speechless. The medical staff checked on Finn, who quickly woke up after a couple potions. The 2 combatants then shook hands while the crowd cheered, before going back to their team.

Finn with a sheepish smile "He got me. No wonder my thumb was killing me"

Riveria "That was not as close as it looked lol"

Gareth laughed "That is what happens when you send a pallum to do a dwarf's job"

Loki in fear "The rabbit has become really strong"

Finn "Did you see those white particles forming around Bell at the end?"

Ais "I think that was Bell gathering strength"

Loki seemed to be almost resigned to her fate "Very interesting. The rabbit has a large battery of strength to draw from"

Bete was upset and looked worried about his upcoming battle with the rabbit. It would be strange if the rabbit ate the wolf.

Lefiya realized that her rival had left her in the dust, and sadly looked at Ais, who was in deep thought.

The Hestia team was completely in ecstasy. They were jumping up and down for quite a while as Bell used a couple recovery potions.

Hestia "Bell, I knew you can do it. "

Welf "Bell, congrats, you did it"

Up in the booth, Freya was almost convulsing with pleasure but had to control herself in public.

Freya "It has finally happened. The training with the strength gathering is a success"

Freya "Do you think the sword princess will follow through?"

Ottar "I think so"

After the initial euphoria, Hestia brought Bell back to the dressing area for another update. With the update, it was clear that Freya's training really improved Bell's abilities, as there was only a small though noticeable improvement in his stats. With victories over Mia and Finn, Bell was now ~78% into his level 5.

After the break, it was time for the battle between Ais and Welf.

Ibri "We have the 3rd match - between Welf a level 2 and Ais Wallenstein a level 6. Medical staff please be ready"

The announcement drew laughter from the crowd as Welf realized his odds were horrible.

Ibri "If you are going to make a bet, this is your last chance."

Welf and Ais soon started their battle. Welf immediately used his fire magic sword for a quick strike per their plan. With the Ryuu vs Bete battle, Ais was well aware of the power of the sword. She immediately jumped back and had to use Ariel to get out of the way of the attack.

Welf then launched his surprise attack with the wind magic sword. As Ais was in the air with Ariel, the wind magic sword's wind interrupted Ais' Ariel wind. Shocked, Ais focused her powers on Ariel and overcame Welf's wind attack. The blow back from Ais' Ariel impacted on Welf and immediately knocked him out.

Ibri "Well that was a lot more interesting than one would have expected from a level 2. While the medical staff attends to the injuries, let's put our hands together for such a valiant effort"

Welf was treated with a couple potions, and he soon woke up though with a headache. He returned to his team as they padded him on the back.

Hestia smiled "Welf has shown that Wallenwhatisit' wind can be interfered with"

Bell "I understand."

Ottar and Freya were having the same discussion in the booth. Their theory had came to past. As they talked, Ibri made the next announcement.

Ibri "After a 10 minute break, we will have Bell Cranel vs. Bete the Vanargand"

Meanwhile, In the Loki corner, the members congratulated Ais who used a recovery potion.

Riveria "Ais, what happened when he used the wind attack"

Ais "I focused to overcome the power of his sword. I am fine"

Finn "That is a most innovative attack against Ais. As expected from the Hestia familia."

**Rabbit vs Wolf**

Ibri "In a remarkable turn of events, Captain Bell Cranel of the Hestia Familia will battle the 3rd level 6 adventurer in this tournament. He has already defeated Momma Mia of the Freya Familia and Captain Finn Deimne of the Loki Familia. He will now battle Bete the Vanargand. If you want to place bets, this is your last opportunity."

As Bell and Bete squared off, they approached each other with both wielding dual daggers. As the daggers clanked together, the battle was amazing to watch. The tempo was very fast with no magic use. Both were quick, agile and strong with excellent technique. Neither over-committed, but both were aggressive. Neither was able to score any hits.

At the Loki corner, everyone including Ais were watching intently.

Loki "Riveria, what do you think?"

Riveria "Bell also has an advantage in strength. They are very close in speed and agility. I have to say that Bell should be favored to win"

Loki "OMG"

At the luxury booth, Freya continued to take in the action with great emotions, while Ottar was watching intently.

Freya "It is pretty close"

Ottar "Bell is stronger. Having seen Bete's magic reflection, Bell will probably avoid magic use unless he is sure the situation is safe"

Freya "Would Bete use magic?"

Ottar "He has some very powerful magic. However, Bell's magic is stronger. Given the time to charge up, Bell should win"

Freya "Does he have the amulet?"

Ottar "Yes he does"

At the Hestia corner, all the members were pretty excited but they had trouble telling where the battle was heading. They were optimistic though as Bell was able to defeat a more senior level 6 in Finn.

As the battle continued, the 2 combatants continued at the blazing pace. The crowd was cheering fiercely. With the blades seemingly flying around in a whirlwind, the battle of dual daggers was very aesthetically pleasing.

The battle went over 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 50 minutes, an hour. The pace continued to be really fast, and neither 2 combatants appeared to tire.

Tiona "Bete is going all out"

Tione "This is his chance to punish argonaut"

Tiona "But argonaut is doing really well"

Riveria "Bell is stronger, but not enough to affect the outcome at this point. He seems to fighting conservatively"

Finn "I think Bete is taking his frustrations out in the battle"

Gareth "If I did not know better, I think Bete is enjoying himself lol"

Ais remained quiet while watching intently. Lefiya was also caught up with the excitement, as she could enjoy the battle now since her rivalry has become irrelevant.

At the luxury booth, Freya was getting her money's worth. Her level of satisfaction was so intense that she was ready to scream at the top of her lungs. However, she remained in control, even if barely.

Ottar "The amulet should give the rabbit a huge advantage. The Vanargand should be tiring by now, but he seems to be fighting on frustration and will power."

Freya "Bell seems content to match him. He seems to understand that time is on his side."

As the battle continued past 90 minutes, the wolf appeared to finally tire a little. With his opponent tiring, Bell noticed that the amulet seemed to be working as he still felt fresh. Thus, he was content to keep wearing down Bete, and avoid taking chances using argonaut charging.

As the battle went past 2 hours, even the crowd was tired from cheering. At this point, Bete was visibly tiring while Bell still seem as fresh as ever. At this point, Bell started to get more aggressive. Bell started using some attacks with 1 second charges, and was successful in pushing back Bete.

In the Hestia corner, they were noticing that Bell started to use his argonaut powers, and started cheering like crazy again. In the Loki corner, the executives could see where things were going.

Loki "Oh no, Bete is worn down"

Finn "Yes Bell is now using his special technique"

Riveria "Bete is unable to stop Bell from gathering his energy"

Tiona "Wow, argonaut is winning"

Tione "Wolvie is being punished now"

As Bell continued to use more and more argonaut infused strikes, these were like body blows which weaken Bete more and more. As Bete became weaker and slower, Bell was able to charge more, and was landing attacks with 2 second charges, then 3 second charges.

After another 10 minutes of Bete being beaten up pretty badly, he was only able to absorb the punishment from sheer will power. Finally, Bell used a 5 second charge elbow which knocked Bete down. Completely exhausted and totally battered, Bete was unable to get up or even move. He was down for a 10 count, and Bell was declared the winner. The crowd again went wild with cheering.

Ibri "OMG, Captain Bell Cranel has now defeated 3 level 6 adventurers. Ais Wallenstein, the Kenki, the Sword Princess, is his last opponent"

In the Loki corner, Loki was almost in denial, and looked at Ais who was still in deep thought. The amazon twins seemed to enjoy Bell's victory and Bete's defeat and ran out to the field!

Tiona "Argonaut defeats wolvie!"

Tione "Bete, what are you going to say now?"

Syr yelled out to Bell "Give him a lap pillow"

Hestia heard Syr's idea, and had an evil grin.

Hestia yelled to Bell "Bell-kun, give the wolf a lap pillow now, that is an order!"

Forced by Goddess Hestia's direct order, Bell reluctantly put Bete's head on his lap as the wolf was screaming in anguish against the humiliation. The twins saw the spectacle and were ROTFLOL next to Bete and Bell.

Tiona teasing "Hey Bete, Ais is going to get jealous. Argonaut's lap belongs to her"

Tione teasing "Wolvie, we now know who the weak one is"

Furious Bete "You try fighting him. He is like a machine"

Tiona took full advantage and pat Bete's head over and over again while he was powerless to resist as his head rested on Bell's lap. Tione went even further by taking one of Bete's whiskers as a souvenir!

Furious Bete "I will get even with you witches!"

Loki in anguish "Traitors"

Finn smiled "It seems Bete is getting punished for his past behavior"

Riveria smiled "Yes it seems so. I think it is good for him in the long term"

Even Ais, who was in deep thought, enjoyed seeing the screaming Bete put in his place.

Even Lefiya thought the lap pillow was hilarious.

Loki thought "My entire familia is rooting for Bell. I am doomed"

As the entire coloseum watched, medical staff brought potions for the 2 combatants. After recovering from exhaustion, the humiliated Bete chased the 2 amazon twins around the field. The embarrassed Bell went back to the Hestia corner getting high-fives from his friends.

Ibri "In the last match, the rabbit has punished the wolf. Though the battle took over 2 hours, so we will now take a 1 hour lunch break before the final and deciding battle between Captain Bell Cranel and Ais Wallenstein, the Kenki, the Sword Princess"


	3. Chapter 3

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DAMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Bell vs. Ais**

With a 1 hour lunch declared, Hestia immediately updated Bell in the dressing area. She was quite pleased, as Bell reached ~80% into level 5 with the long battle. After they rejoined their friends, everyone had a chance to relax and enjoy more pies from the Hostess.

Hestia "This is the last battle and the most important battle"

Hestia "Bell, you need to focus on the fight and don't think about Ais your idol"

Lili teased "Bell-sama, think with your brain, not the other organ"

Shocked Haruhime "OMG"

Lili "Guess the fox is not that innocent...", making Haruhime blush.

Serious Bell "I understand"

In the Loki corner, Loki tried hard to get everyone refocused after the Bete spanking. This was the last chance before the tournament decides which goddesses becomes the slave for the week. Loki could see that everyone liked Bell, but she had to remind them what would happen to their goddess if they lose.

Finn "Yes, losing will be bad for our reputation in Orario. However, honestly, everyone in Orario cannot help but be impressed by a level 5 underdog defeating 3 x level 6 in a row. I am actually more worried about our reputation relative to the Freya Familia at this point"

Riveria "Yes, the ascendance of the Hestia familia and Bell Cranel appears inevitable. This is their coming out party at our expense. I also would worry more about the public opinion of our familia versus the Freya Familia. While Bell appears to be the present and future hero, their familia is very small with only 2 1st class adventurers."

Gareth "I agree. The Hestia Familia has become the sweetheart that is also the swing power in Orario. They are now the clear number 3 in importance. The Ganesha familia has 10 1st class adventurers, but I would say the Hestia Familia and Bell Cranel in particular are now more important to the future."

Loki "Everyone can see now Bell Cranel will soon become the 2nd most powerful person and possibly even surpassing Ottar in a few months"

Loki "Ais, please try your best. Bell is strong but you have ariel."

Riveria "Yes Ais, assuming that wind sword is still functional, you have already shown that your magic can overcome its power. You should assume that Bell will be using that sword though"

Ais "I will try my best"

In the luxury booth, Freya and Ottar enjoyed an amazing 1st rate meal and toasted their success. They have shaped the battle, shaped the warrior, trained the warrior, taught the warrior, equipped the warrior. They have put Bell in the best position to win, and now they would simply sit and enjoy the battle. They understood all the potential impact in terms of their familia's standing in Orario, as well as potential alliances. However, this was the time to enjoy a historic battle, and leave the rest for later.

After the hour passed, it was time. Bell and Ais went to the field. Bell had his dual daggers, while Ais had Desperate. Ais was surprised that Bell did not have the wind magic sword...

Ibri "Ladies and Gentlemen, it has come to this. The last battle will decide the fate of the 2 goddesses. If you want to place a bet, this is your last chance."

Before Ibri started the fight, Ais whispered something to Bell.

Embarrassed Ais "Winner gives loser a lap pillow"

Blushing Bell "Agreed"

The battle then proceeded upon Ibri's command.

While Ais understood Bell was fighting like an advanced level 6, he was an advanced level 3 the last time when they fought over Weine. When it came to Bell, that few weeks may as well be an eternity. But this was still difficult for Ais to accept as they sparred carefully to feel each other out.

From the beginning, Bell was noticeably stronger. Furthermore, Bell was quicker and more agile. Both however were careful, and neither used their magic.

Five minutes into the sparring, Bell was already starting to push Ais, which silenced the audience. As Bell continued to push Ais, she realized that she needed to change her plan. It was time to use Ariel if she was going to have a chance.

However, using Ariel was something she dreaded, as it was dangerous. She did not want to hurt or, god forbid, kill Bell by mistake. However, she also remembered that she made a promise to someone to use Ariel if it became necessary. As Bell continued to push her, she finally relented and said 'tempest'.

With Ariel activated, she gained a great deal of power and speed. Ais still wanted to carefully control her use of the power and to prevent unnecessary injury. Thus she simply used it as her wind armor as well as a means to increase her strength and speed.

With the power boost, the fighting was more even. To her surprise, Bell was able to keep up with her power and her speed. She could not understand where he got this fighting ability from. There was almost no one who could have prepared him for this, and he was not even using his special technique. She was not sure that the senior Loki executives could actually have matched her speed in Ariel. How could Bell be so strong!

Almost no one in the audience has ever seen ariel in action, and Ais' raging whirlwind was shocking to them. For those in the Loki Familia who have seen ariel in action, the results were even more shocking. Indeed, Bell was matching Ais in speed and strength while she was using her trump card and Bell was not! Could Bell have actually surpassed Ais?

The battle continued unabated for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. With limited magic stats, the continued use of Ariel was wearing down Ais. However, Bell continued to fight with no loss in efficiency. Having seen how Bell fought against Fin and Bete, Ais knew that she would have to escalate the fight If she wanted to win. She knew that meant Lil Rafaga, which is extremely dangerous. She did not want to hurt Bell badly but it appears that Bell was on a different level now.

As Ais considered her situation, she was weakening, slowing down and losing strength. Bell actually started to push her back slightly even with Ariel. Realizing that she could lose soon, she decided she had to keep her solemn promise. Thus, she put quite a bit of distance between herself and Bell, and started to gather her wind strength for her finishing move.

Bell's body also sensed the critical moment was coming, as white particles had been forming around him for some time. As Ais launched Lil Rafaga, Bell used the wind magic dagger to launch a wind attack with about 2 minutes of argonaut charge.

The result was staggering, as if 2 opposing tornadoes slammed right into each other. Bell's argonaut charged wind attack broke through Ais' Lil Rafaga! The force was so severe that it shut down Ariel and knocked Ais out of the sky!

Loki "OH NO"

Seeing Ais plummet, Lefiya, Tiona, Tione, Riveria, Finn, Gareth and Bete all immediately ran towards Ais. But they were too far away.

Hestia "OMG"

Lefiya was watching helplessly while tears fell.

The entire colosseum was horrified.

Ibri was speechless.

Seeing that Ais was falling completely out of control, Bell realized that she was probably knocked unconscious. As everyone screamed in horror, Bell ran as fast as he could with a large cloud of white particles all around him. The atmosphere was surreal as the grand bell tolled during those few precious seconds. As Ais was about to slam into the ground, Bell launched himself towards the falling Ais as if rocket propelled by argonaut power.

At the last possible moment, Bell caught the falling princess and cradled her in his arms. Bell also used his body to shield and cushion Ais from her fall. Despite Bell's best efforts, there was a loud thud, bone crunching sounds and a huge cloud of dust...


	4. Chapter 4

**The Conclusion of the Tournament**

The high speed impact caused an enormous dust cloud, shocking the entire colosseum. With the wind magic sword, Welf quickly blew away the dust cloud. What everyone then saw broke their heart. Ais was lying on top of Bell, their motionless bodies were twisted in unnatural ways, and there was a lot of blood.

In tears, Loki and Hestia ran towards their beloved children. Welf, Ryuu, Lili, Haruhime and Mikoto also raced towards Bell.

The Loki executives, who had an early start as they tried to save Ais from her fall, got to Bell and Ais first. Seeing the disaster, they used all the potions they carried, and Riveria immediately started her healing spell. They were able to stop the bleeding and correct some injuries, but it looked bad. Both Bell and Ais were unconscious and their bodies were a mess.

When the Hestia members reached Bell and Ais, everyone was in tears but they could see that Riveria did what she could. Hoping to help, Haruhime activated Uchide no Kozuchi and boosted Riveria. While Riveria was still confused by the effects of the spell, Haruhime asked Riveria to repeat the healing spell. With her boosted level, the enhanced healing spell was able to improve on the results. At that point, Airmid and the medical staff arrived, and immediately took Bell and Ais away in stretchers.

After a few minutes, Ibri made the sad announcement.

Ibri "Bell Cranel and Ais Wallenstein have been taken to the hospital. As you can see, the titanic clash of their magic resulted in Ais Wallenstein free-falling towards the ground. She was saved by Bell Cranel, who sacrificed his body to stop her fall. They are both alive but critically injured including multiple broken bones. Airmid Teasanare is now handling their medical treatment."

Ibri "Bell Cranel has been declared the winner of the match. Thus the Hestia Familia has won the tournament. Please pray for their recovery. This event is now concluded."

Many were in tears when the crowd filed out of the colosseum. They had witnessed incredible powers and magic, but the accident was heartbreaking. They saw the hero risked his life to save the princess, but both were now in the hospital.

Soon after, there was a huge crowd at the hospital waiting room. Hestia and Loki were hugging each other while convulsing in tears. Lefiya and Riveria, Tiona and Tione, Haruhime and Mikoto, Welf and Lili, Syr and Ryuu were doing the same. The look on Bete's face was pure devastation. Finn and Gareth tried to stay calm though their eyes were moist. Freya and Ottar were there as well with Freya looking as horrible as a goddess of beauty could look. Hermes and Asfi were also there, and the naughty god had a blank look on his face. Take and Miach, as well as their familias, were helping out where they could and brought the best potions they owned.

The large group could only console each other while pacing around waiting for news from Airmid. Just outside, many townspeople walked by leaving flowers and said prayers for the two adventurers. With many in Orario at the colosseum, Bell and what happened had instantly become legend in the city.

\- many hours later at the hospital waiting area -

Without warning, an unconscious Haruhime was carried out of the O.R. Following Haruhime, an exhausted Airmid walked out looking like she was about to go mind-down herself.

Airmid announced to the nervous crowd "Bell and Ais are alive, but both are unconscious. They both have many broken bones including arms, legs, shoulders and more. I did what I could. I don't know when they will wake up. Bell had more damage as we all saw how he sacrificed his body. His recovery will likely take longer. They both will be staying here for many weeks."

Airmid continued "Haruhime gave me everything she had. She has a mind-down now, but will be fine after a night of sleep. The extra level she was able to lend me made a huge difference in what I could do. Also, the healing that was done on the spot was incredible. I have never seen anything like it. If not for that, they may not have survived."

Airmid also admonished them "You folks have incredible magic. I hope you will find better use for it in the future."

After that, Airmid almost collapsed, and was carried away for some needed rest.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Waiting**

The friends and familia members were really happy to hear that Bell and Ais made it through the medical procedures. Although seeing the two young adventurers bandaged up from head to toe, they became more worried about long term condition.

They decided to put Ais and Bell in the same room and watch over them 24-hours a day until they wake up. Thus, extra beds were brought inside the room where Hestia, Loki, Tiona and Tione would take turn watching. Ryuu and the other Loki executives would also take turn guarding outside their room.

At that point, the other familias and deities, including Freya, Take, Miach and Hermes went back to their homes.

\- The Next Day -

Everyone went back to the hospital to talk to Airmid, who finally had some rest.

Airmid "Everyone, I know you are concerned, but everything that can be done has been done. They had the best care available, the best potions, and even the best magic that no one has ever had access to. We have to be patient to see how they recover."

Hestia "But how long before they wake up"

Airmid "Either one can wake up at any time. Or it may take a long time. We just do not know. This can be a long wait. It was a horrible accident."

Airmid continued "They could have easily died with that high speed impact. In fact, it is a miracle they both survived. "

Airmid while looking at Loki and Hestia "Bell saved Ais from certain death as she plunged towards the ground. By shielding Ais with his body, he himself has suffered severe head trauma. Do not be surprised if he has memory loss. Same for Ais. Bell cushioned her impact, but she still had severe head trauma. They both have many broken bones, and they will have to rehabilitate like Bell did a few weeks ago. Fortunately, their fingers and hands were not destroyed. Instead, it was their arms and legs that shattered in many places. Both Bell's shoulders were horribly separated. One of Ais' shoulder was also badly separated."

Airmid warned "Do not be surprised if they would not be as strong or as fast as before. Do not be surprised if they don't remember who you are. Be prepared to be disappointed. Be ready to support them. That is all I can say"

That brought tears to the group as the consequences sunk in, especially to those who were hoping for a miraculous recovery.

Freya "Is there any magic, any potion, any device that can help their recovery or their memory?"

Airmid "Again, we used the most expensive high potions available. The magic used was boosted by Haruhime so no one has ever been treated with such high level magic before. I do not know of any other potion or any other magic available that can help their physical recovery or memory"

Loki "I will spare no expense. For either of them. Is there anything we can do?"

Hestia "I will do anything to help them"

Airmid "I cannot think of anything. If I think of something, I will definitely let you know."

Freya to Loki and Hestia, "If money or resources are needed, you can count on me"

Hestia and Loki said with their voice cracking "Thank you Freya!"

Miach "Airmid, Naaza and I would like to meet with you and Lord Dian Cecht. We would like to brain storm about what can be done"

Airmid "Certainly, I will let Lord Dian Cecht know and then contact you"

Hermes "Airmid, please let me know if you figure out anything new. My familia is here to assist. In the meantime, I will make a trip to find some old friends to discuss this"

Airmid "Certainly Lord Hermes"

Airmid "Now, I also have other patients to attend to"

At that point, Hermes and Asfi left for some unknown destination while Miach and Naaza went back to their home to do some research. Everyone else stayed in the waiting area hoping to see the 2 adventurers wake up.

Freya to Syr "Syr, let me know if anything happens. I will be looking into special treatments. I will send Tammuz here to support you.", after which Freya and Ottar headed back to her headquarters.

Loki to Hestia "Bell saved Ais' life by sacrificing himself completely. He is a real hero in the truest sense of the word. From now on, I will treat him like I would treat my own children"

Hestia "Thank you Loki. Now we need to find out what we can do for the two of them"

At that point, Eina came in to check on Bell. But the sight of the bandaged up Bell and the news made her collapse from sadness. After taking some time to recover, Eina went back to update the guild.

Afterward, the grouped waited and waited, but the two adventurers remained motionless.

By noon, there was a huge delivery from the Hostess. Apparently Freya had the food delivered and paid the bill.

After lunch, Airmid came by and checked on the two patients. Before moving onto the next patients, she told the group that nothing had changed. The afternoon went by, but Bell and Ais remained unconscious.

Dinner was also delivered compliments of Freya. When Loki asked Lunoire what is going on, Lunoire told them that Freya told Mia to deliver meals everyday until the ordeal has ended, all on Freya's tab. This really impressed Loki and Hestia, realizing they had Freya's full support.

Airmid came back after dinner to check on the two patients, but again, there was no improvement.

The next morning, Bell and Ais remained unconscious. When Airmid came to do her rounds, Naaza and Miach were with her.

Airmid "Lord Dian Cecht and I met with Naaza and Lord Miach this morning. We discussed a potion that may help with their physical recovery, but the ingredients are extremely extremely rare. In fact, rare to the point that we stopped trying to make this potion years ago."

Loki "What are those ingredients"

Naaza "There is a rare flower that grows in some high mountain peaks. There is a tube worm at the bottom of the ocean. There is a rare mushroom in some deep floors in the dungeon. We need at least 2 of these ingredients. All 3 would be much better."

Finn "Tiona and Tione have an ability to dive to deep waters."

Loki "My familia can also help with the other ingredients."

Lili "I can turn into an eagle to scout mountain peaks"

Syr "Freya familia can take part in dungeon missions to find the rare mushroom. Tammuz, go let Lady Freya know about this immediately"

Hestia "I will let Hermes know. We need Asfi's with her flying ability. We can get communication devices from the guild"

Loki "Please give us the information on these ingredients. We can start searching immediately."

Naaza "I will go on the search"

Airmid "We can also send members to go with you. "

Airmid "I now need to attend to other patients"

With that, a meeting was set for lunch, and finally there was some action they could take.

At lunch, Loki, Freya, Hestia, Miach, Take and Hephaestus all attended with Aisha representing Hermes. Freya immediately posted quests at the guild for all 3 ingredients. They also decided that Ottar, a Dian Hecht member, Riveria, Gareth and a Gulliver brother would search the dungeon. Meanwhile, Tione, Tiona, Haruhime, Miach and 2 Gulliver brothers would go to Melen to get a boat. Finn, Bete, Lili, Naaza, Aisha, a Gulliver brother, as well as Asfi when she returns, would perform the mountain search. With most of the executives in searches, Ryuu, Syr, Tammuz, Lefiya, Raul, Alicia and Anakitty would be staying with Loki and Hestia at the hospital.

The search parties departed the next morning, but unfortunately, neither Bell nor Ais had improved when they left Orario.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Search**

The next morning, Ottar, a Dian Hecht member, Riveria, Gareth and a Gulliver brother descended down the dungeon in search of the mushroom. With Ottar leading the way, there was little resistance, and they quickly reached Rivira. There, they talked to townspeople to gather what information they could on the mushroom before heading for the 50th floor. With the large reward, a large group of adventurers from Riviria followed the Ottar team, which protected the Rivira adventurers for the normally deadly trip.

Meanwhile, Tione, Tiona, Haruhime, Miach and 2 Gulliver brothers left for Melen. After a morning of uneventful travel, they reached their destination and rented a large boat to head towards the deep waters. Haruhime would boost the amazon twins' powers as they dived into the ocean. Finn, Bete, Lili, Naaza, Aisha, a Gulliver brother also started their trip to the mountains. They were guided by Lili as the eyes in the sky and Bete as the nose on the ground.

With 10 million valor rewards offered, Freya generated a lot of interest. Later that morning, Loki, Hestia and Freya had set up a temporary 24-hour headquarters next to the hospital. Welf, Mikoto, Cassandra, Dalphne, Take and Ouka took turns manning the desks while junior Hephaestus members ran errands. They fielded questions from adventurers about the 3 ingredients, accepted information from the public, and coordinated all communications with the search parties, Hestia, Freya and Loki, as well as Airmid and Dian Hecht.

The same afternoon, Ais appeared to be stirring a bit, but still did not regain consciousness. Unfortunately, Bell remained in a deep coma.

\- Two Days Later -

Ais finally woke up briefly. She was confused and scared, but did recognize Loki and Lefiya. Hermes also returned on that day and sent Asfi to join the search in the mountains.

\- Another Day Later -

Ais was more aware and told Loki and Lefiya that she remembered losing ariel, falling, being caught by Bell and then a big pain. She asked how Bell was and they told her that he survived and is also recovering. With her body in a rigid cast, they could not move her easily to see Bell, but they assured her that the cast would be removed in a few weeks. Fortunately Ais was able to eat and that helped her regain some strength.

Meanwhile, all 3 search parties reached their destinations. In the dungeon, Ottar's team was acting as the protection unit for about 50 Rivira adventurers looking for the mushroom. In the ocean, Tiona and Tione, were diving several times a day, with boosting helping from Haruhime. High up in the mountain skies, Lili was flying as an eagle identifying possible targets for Asfi to deliver Bete and Finn.

\- The Next Day -

Ais seemed to be even more aware, but wanted more information about Bell. She cried when they finally told her the truth. He risked everything to save her, and now he was in a coma. As they tried to comfort her, they were getting really worried about when Bell will wake up. At the end, Airmid gave Ais a sedative medicine to help her sleep.

At the same time, the search teams were very busy in their respective areas. Each team was trying to identify a large number of ingredient candidates but did not have any confirmed successes.

\- Another Day Later -

Ais woke up and wanted to see Bell again. As her crying like an 8 year old, they relented. They literally lifted her and rotated her upside down so that she could see Bell in a bed several feet away.

Ais "Bell is in a cast just like me, but he looks so peaceful sleeping like that. Just like a rabbit..."

But then things turned for the worse, Ais "It is my fault he is still in this state, he sacrificed himself for me"

Loki interrupted "Be a good girl and rest. In a few weeks, you will be able to walk. Once your bones had enough time to heal, you will be out of that cast. With any luck, Bell will be up and about also.

Ais really wanted to pet Bell, but that was obviously impossible in her cast. However, with her mind seemingly recovered, Lefiya and Loki kept her company when she was awake. That lifted the mood for the entire group, as even Riveria was updated about Ais waking up while deep in the dungeon.

Meanwhile, the searches were going full speed ahead. Even more candidates were gathered, keeping the pharmacists very busy trying to identify them.

\- The Next Day -

As it was the one week mark into the healing process, Airmid started using a magic device to help Ais' muscles inside the cast. The device improves circulation to prevent clotting and keep some muscle tone. With Ais reporting no pain, a similar device was used on Bell, who was still unconscious.

For the searches, finally, there was a success reported. Apparently Mord found a good amount of the mushroom and would be receiving the reward. With the success, the dungeon team started heading back to the surface.

\- One Day Later -

Ais was told of the good news on the mushroom, but she was getting very impatient. Little Ais was driving the anger, and demanded to play with the rabbit.

Loki "Aissy-poo, you have to be reasonable. The boy is still sleeping"

Ais pouted "Bring me close to his face."

Shocked Lefiya "You want what?"

Ais pouted again "Bring me close to his face"

Suspicious Loki "Why?"

Ais "Bell is my hero now, and I want to be close to him"

Embarrassed Lefiya "What are you going to do? We do not want to drop you on him and have another accident"

Ais pouted again "I want to do what I want to do with my hero! That is my business! Just bring me close to him!"

Completely defeated by the cute pout, Loki and Lefiya relented. Remembering the source of Liaris Freese, Hestia was also in agreement. Thus, Ryuu, Lefiya, Raul and Tammuz lifted Ais' full-body cast above Bell so Ais' face was right next to Bell's face.

Ais talked softly "Bell, thank you for saving me. I know you can hear me. Please wake up."

Ais continued while her tears dripped on Bell's face "You saved me. You are my hero. So please wake up, my hero"

With still no response, Ais started sobbing more.

Loki "Ais, this is enough. You need to rest."

Ais puts Loki in her place "Only if I get to see Bell like this twice a day, but give me just a little more time now".

Ais to Bell "I have to go now but I wanted to give you this" then gave Bell a little kiss on the cheek.

Listening in to Ais' monologue, Hestia, Loki and Lefiya were ready to convulse, but they had no choice and allowed Ais to do what she wanted.

After they placed Ais back on her hospital bed, they checked on Bell. Hestia did notice that Bell's cheeks seemed to have a pinker color, raising hopes that he could hear them. So they all started taking turns talking to the motionless Bell more everyday.

Hestia talked about the times when their familia just started and how they spent time together at the old church. She then begged Bell to get better until she started sobbing uncontrollably.

Ryuu talked about how much she valued Bell and how much she missed him.

Syr talked about making lunches for him and how he was now everyone's hero.

Loki thanked him for saving Ais and how Ais was recovering everyday.

Lefiya had a long talk with her former rival. She thanked Bell for saving Ais, how she now looked up to him as her hero, how Ais was doing better, how much she wanted to be a hero like him, how he defeated her fair and square, how stupid she was for being jealous, how cool he was when he defeated all those level 6, how much she laughed when Bell gave Bete the lap pillow, how much everyone wanted to talk to Bell and laugh about Bell smushing a pie on Momma Mia's face, and finally that he needed to wake up because Ais misses him and cries about him.

The same day, Miach verified that Tiona found the correct tape worm, and the ocean team headed back to land.

\- Another day later -

With the rumor that Bell may improve when others talk to him, there were many visitors. Eina and Misha came from the guild. Mikoto and Welf took time from the communications center to talk to Bell. So did Cassandra and Dalphne as well as Ouka and Take. Freya came by to give her unique brand of encouragement. So did Hermes in his latest rendition of the heroes getting up when beaten down.

Ais, of course, got to spend her 'face' time with Bell. With all the girls visiting, she was honestly getting pretty jealous and started to demand more face time. Remembering Liaris Freese again, Hestia was in agreement with Ais. However, listening to Ais talking to her hero was making the hairs stand up on the back of the necks for Loki, Lefiya and Hestia. No one knew the formerly-emotionless girl had that in her...

There was also finally good news from the team searching the mountains. Bete apparently found enough of the rare flower, and now they were heading back to Orario.

\- The Next Day -

There were even more visitors as the dungeon team returned to Orario.

After delivering the rare mushrooms to Airmid, Riveria and Gareth immediately went to check on Bell and Ais. The reunion was wonderful as everyone started getting teared up again.

Afterward, Riveria went to have her talk with Bell. Apparently Riveria had a lot to say. She told Bell many stories that made everyone in the room, particularly Ais, really embarrassed. This included how Ais was frustrated when Bell ran away, about how angry Ais got when Riveria teased her about the rabbit, about how all the ways Ais changed because of the rabbit, about how Ais used the need to apologize as an excuse, about how Ais and everyone was amazed by Bell during his minotaur battle ... By the end, Ais was ready to beat Riveria for revealing all her deep secrets, but thankfully she was still wrapped in the cast. Hearing all the history, Lefiya, Hestia and Loki simply nodded and gave each other knowing looks.

After Riveria, Gareth also went to encourage Bell. He talked about how incredibly brave Bell was to save Ais the way he did, how Finn got the party to fight on in the 59th floor battle by reminding everyone of Bell's fight with the minotaur, how he knew Bell would be the hero for the new age and how much he looked forward to his chance to spar with Bell because Loki sent a pallum to do a dwarf's job at the tournament.

As the ocean and the mountain search teams would soon be returning with their ingredients, Airmid was busy working on prepping the 1st ingredient. The potion was supposed to help with head injuries, so they hoped it would help Bell wake up.

\- Another Day later -

All the search teams had returned, so Bell and Ais got even more visitors.

First, Tiona and Tione rushed to the room. Tiona and Tione were excited to see their sister awake. After crying together with Ais and Lefiya, Tiona and Tione went to talk to the argonaut. After telling the stories about Ais and her affection for the rabbit, Tiona promised she would be reading fairy tales to Bell everyday. Tione then to Bell talked about how much she enjoyed his defeat of Bete, how much her sister adored Bell, and finally how badly he needs to get up because Ais was waiting for him.

Lili, Haruhime, Finn and Bete soon arrived. As Tione and Tiona were talking to Bell, Finn, Bete, Lili and Haruhime went to check on Ais, who thanked them for getting the rare ingredients. They then gave Ais more encouragement and told her to be patient as the cast will come off in a couple weeks.

After Tiona and Tione were done, Lili went to Bell to remind him of all the good times they had in the familia. She thanked Bell for saving her from being killed by the giant ants. And then she thanked Bell for taking care of her even when she did not deserved it and when she betrayed him. She also promised Bell that if he got up, he could play with her ears as much as he wanted.

Haruhime was next and she started by thanking Bell for saving her from Ishtar and the horrible fate that awaited her. She then reminded Bell of all the fun that they had together, about Weine, about cooking breakfast, about going on trips together, about his promise to take the familia to have fun on vacation. Finally, she begged him to wake up as everyone was waiting for him.

Finn then took his turn. First, he acknowledged Bell and told him that he wanted to fight together with Bell against all the dangerous enemies and the black dragon. Then he told Bell that he wanted a rematch badly so Bell needs to wake up. He also thanked Bell for saving Ais, who he said is like a daughter to him. He then reiterated that Ais is getting better, and is waiting for him to wake up. Finally he told Bell that all of Orario now looked up to Bell as the hero, so he needed to get up to lead the adventurers.

Bete then had a lot to say. He first acknowledged that Bell is stronger than him, and that he is jealous of Bell's growth. He then talked about how he was wrong when he first met Bell and dismissed Bell as a weakling. Then he admitted he was jealous of Bell because of Ais. Then he talked about Bell's special gift and how he wanted to train with him. He also said that the way Bell saved Ais was the bravest thing he had ever seen, and thanked Bell for being the hero that he was. Finally, he talked trash about the lap pillow that Bell gave him. He said he wanted a chance to redeem himself so Bell needed to get up for a rematch.

Naaza and Miach came in during a short break from working with the potion ingredients. After saying hi to Ais, they went by to talk briefly to Bell. They told Bell that they were working on a new potion, and that Bell needed to fight hard to wake up as everyone was waiting for him to return.

Later in the day, Freya, Ottar and Mia came by. After checking on Ais, they also went to talk to Bell.

Ottar first acknowledged Bell being a worthy hero and being strong. But then Ottar challenged Bell and said that Ottar is still the king and still the strongest. So Bell needed to get up to show that he is worthy by defeating Ottar.

Mia then had her say. She told Bell that lots of pretty girls were waiting for him so he cannot disappoint them all. She also said that she needed a rematch for the game and the pie smush. And the result of their next battle will be roasted rabbit instead of blueberry pie. Finally, she said everyone missed Bell at the Hostess and that he can eat for free for the next 100 meals when he gets up, all-he-can-eat!

Freya was the last one and she reminded Bell of his promise to join her group's quest to kill the black dragon. She also told Bell that she missed his beautiful soul so he needs to rise and be the hero that he is.

\- A Week Later -

About 3 weeks into the recovery, it was the moment of truth as the new potion was finally distilled from the 3 key ingredients. With everyone there to witness the result, Airmid and Naaza first applied the potion to Ais and then to Bell.

It was hard to tell what effect it exactly had on Ais, except there was a soft glow that lasted for a couple minutes and then her eyes seemed to have regained their golden shine.

After the potion was applied to Bell, there was also the same soft glow that lasted for a couple minutes. Even though everyone held their breathe for as long as they could, Bell still did not wake up...


	7. Chapter 7

**Hestia Taking Command**

The new potion was applied to Bell, but Bell still did not wake up. Thus everyone was very sad.

Airmid "Don't be disappointed. Give it time to work"

Hestia went to Bell sobbing "Bell, please wake up. If you wake up, I will let you do whatever you want. You can date Wallenwhatisit. You can date a goddess. You can date a spirit. You can date an elf. You can date an half-elf. You can date a pallum. You can date anyone you want. You can date all of them. I give you full permission. You can even change familia. Just please wake up, sob sob sob"

As Lili and Haruhime tried to comfort Hestia, Welf went to talk to Bell "Come on, man. Goddess said you can have whatever you want. This is time to wake up and enjoy life! We can hit the bars. We can find naughty places. We can have so much fun!"

At that time, Ais was also very disappointed, but she kept her cool. Loki and Freya also kept silent trying to figure out what to do and what to say.

After calming down a bit, Hestia was contemplating using her arcanum powers. No matter what, she decided that Bell will be cured, even if she needed to return to heaven. Suddenly, she came up something. Then she took Loki aside and had a private discussion.

Hestia "If something were to happen to me, you would take good care of my children?"

Loki "I know that look. Don't do it. We are still very early.

A determined Hestia "That would be my last option, but I will not allow my Bell-kun to suffer like this"

After returning to the group, Hestia "Airmid, Bell's status has not been updated since the accident. Is there any danger with an update?"

Airmid "I do not see any risks. Go ahead if you want to, but we would first have to cut away that part of the cast. Don't worry because it is not a critical part of the cast."

Hestia decided "Yes, please do that. I would like to update his stats."

Thus, Ottar and Gareth held on to the cast while that portion of the cast was carefully cut away. After which Hestia updated Bell's stats. As Hestia expected, Bell's stats took a huge jump after battling Ais and ariel and after that insane rocket-launched argonaut leap to save Ais from her fall. In fact, Bell's stats were all s or ss ranked. Making a decision only she could make, Hestia decided to advance Bell to level 6 hoping that leveling could improve his recovery. Afterwards, Bell's cast was again placed on his hospital bed.

Hestia announced "Bell is now level 6. Defeating Ais and saving Ais provided a huge jump in his stats. Obviously, I am hoping that this will help with his recovery"

After the update, Hestia whispered something to Ais. Then she asked Ryuu, Lefiya, Raul and Tammuz to give Ais some more 'face' time with Bell. As this was going on, almost everyone was wondering whether Hestia lost her mind.

As Ais was lowered close to Bell's face, she made another appeal to the unconscious Bell.

Ais "Bell, please wake up, we all need you."

Ais "I miss you, please wake up."

Ais "Remember, you won the tournament. So you need to give me the lap pillow. Remember our promise"

Ais started to tear up "You are my hero now. I am counting on my hero to protect me."

Ais with tears dropping on Bell "Please wake up. I like you and I miss you"

After making her pleas and declarations, Ais gave Bell a small kiss on each cheek.

And then after a long pause and a deep breathe, she finally gave Bell a long kiss on his lips, making others wondered if Hestia is trying something from the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.

As Ais withdrew from the long kiss, she saw that Bell finally started to stir.

Ais "OMG OMG Bell is starting to move!", causing everyone to jump in response.

The 4 holding up the cast quickly lifted Ais out of the way.

As everyone quickly gathered around Bell, they saw that Bell's eyes started to open a little but then closed again. That happened a few times, before he seemed to nod off again.

Surprised Airmid "This may be huge progress. I don't understand why this happened, and I don't care why as long as it works. We need Ais to do this a couple times everyday, and see whether there is an improvement. Let's give it a few hours, but try this again in the afternoon"

Hestia thought "Yes, Liaris Freese may be the trick. Now is there any other way to trigger Bell?"

Airmid "Now that Bell has stirred a bit, he still may need his rest with the brain trauma. Let's move Ais and everyone into the next room. We can leave 2 people here to monitor Bell"

Thus, everyone headed to the next room, while Hestia and Lili staying around to watch Bell, along with Gareth and Finn on guard duty.

5 hours later, it was time for another try. Determined to trigger the cheater's basic instincts, Hestia planned for a long list of pretty girls to 'stimulate' Bell. Then when she looked at Finn, Welf and Bete with a subtle smile, they looked at each other and the three pieces of meat ran for their lives at max speed.

Hestia would start "Bell-kun, we are here again to cheer you on. You made great progress so please fight hard. I know you can do it. There are a lot of pretty girls all waiting to talk to you. I promise again I will not stand in the way. You can date Wallenwhatisit, you can date an elf, you can date 2 elves, you can date a half elf, you can date a 1/4 elf, you can date a 3/4 elf, you can date a pallum. you can date a goddess. you can date all of them. You can do whatever you want as long as you wake up. I promise I will support you in whatever you want to do.", after which she gave him a small kiss on each cheek and his forehead.

First, Hermes brought in 3 special guests, shocking everyone. It was Asterius, Weine and Marie in a tub of water!

Asterius "My rival, we still have our fated battle to decide the victor. You need to get up and get better and bring peace!"

A teary Weine "Bell, you need to get up. Please get better and come visit us. Weine misses you all the time", then kissed Bell on each cheek.

Then Marie was carried over to Bell "Bell, you need to recover. You are so kind and nice. Please come visit us soon", and then one kiss on each cheek.

Next was Lili "Bell-sama. Lili misses you a lot and worry about you a lot. You are the most important person in the world to me. Please try hard and open your eyes. We all love you and you are all our hero.", after which she also gave him a small kiss on both cheeks.

It was Eina's turn "Bell, you mean so much to me. Please keep fighting and open your eyes. I miss you so much.", and then there was a kiss on each cheek.

Haruhime came up next "Bell-sama, this is Haruhime. I just wanted to say please wake up and open your eyes. There are so many fun things to do in this world, but it is no fun without you. I love you. I love you so much. Please come back to us.", then there were 2 kisses and with some tail brushing over the face.

Then Tiona and Tione went up to Bell at the same time. Tiona and Tione "Argonaut kun, it is time to wake up. We promise we will support you and Ais. We will also tease you less. So please wake up for everyone and for Ais. We will give you double the pleasure!", then twins both kissed Bell on the cheeks at the same time, one on each side.

Then Freya had her chance "Bell, you are the clear soul that makes a goddess's life worth living. Please come back to be the brilliant hero that you are", and then a kiss on each cheek.

Syr was next "Bell, please come back to us. You opened your eyes a little, so please try hard and open your eyes some more. I know you can do it. You are my hero and I love you. So does everyone. If you want to date other girls, I will support you. Just please come back to us because we miss you so much", and kisses on each cheek.

Then Ryuu was next "I am going to start calling you Bell-kun. Bell-kun, you saved me. You put your life at risk to save me when it looked hopeless. You are someone so worthy of respect. I care about you. I like you. I love you. I want you to be happy. Just fight hard and come back to us. I know you are a fighter and you can do it!", then kisses on each cheek.

It was Lefiya's turn to talk "Bell-kun, I know I had been difficult in the past. I promise when you wake up, I will support you and not be difficult again. If you and Ais date, you will have my full support. You are my hero now too, as well as everyone's hero. Please come back to us. Be our hero", and yet two more kisses.

Then Riveria talked to Bell "Bell, you are such an amazing hero. Thank you for saving Ais again the way you did. We are all behind you and will support you all the way. If you want to date Ais, no one will stand in your way. Please come back and be the hero that Orario needs to lead it to victory. I am sure you want someone else to kiss you so I will refrain"

Loki also chipped in "Bell, hey kid, I know I have been tough on you. I got in the way of your dance with Ais. I pulled her away from you. I was being stupid, but gods have a stupid way of doing that. I promise now I will never stand in your way with Ais again. You earned my respect with the way you sacrificed yourself to save her. I will treat you the same way that I would treat my child. You want to date Ais, fine. You want to hold hands with her, fine. You want to get married, I will support it. Please come back because Ais has been crying her eyes out about you. Be the hero to Orario and be Ais' hero. Just fight hard and open your eyes. Just like Riveria said, I am sure you want someone else to kiss you so I will refrain"

Finally it was Ais' turn "Bell, this is really embarrassing. You know, a girl is not supposed to confess her feelings like this. But I will do it anyway. When I first met you, I could not stop thinking about you. I honestly did not understand what my feelings were, and I was so confused because getting stronger became less important than apologizing to you. Riveria teased me. Loki teased me. Tiona and Tione teased me. I still could not understand what I was feeling. I have never had these feelings before, but I still think about the dance we shared. It was so special and so wonderful. Thank you for giving me these memories. In the tournament, you saved me by completely sacrificing your body. Right now, I feel really guilty because you got hurt saving me. So please come back. You are my hero, and I will never let you go. I want to hold hands with you, I want to hug you, I want to go on dates, I want to be always by your side. Please open your eyes so we can talk about all these wonderful things that we can do together. I miss you and I love you. This is so embarrassing!"

After her embarrassing clingy confession, Ais gave Bell many kisses on the cheeks before a long kiss on the lips...

After the kisses, Bell finally slowly opened his eyes. He looked very tired, but he smiled a little.

Bell spoke weakly "Ais, I am so sorry I am so pathetic. I heard everything you said. I heard everything everyone said. But no matter how hard I tried, I just could not force my body to open my eyes. Thank you and please thank everyone for giving me the strength to fight. I am still dizzy and still tired. But without everyone's encouragement, I would never have made it this far."

Bell confessed "Ais, you are the reason I worked so hard. Everything was because of you. When I first met you, you were the perfect girl that I could never hope to reach. That is why I worked so hard to try to be worthy of being with you."

Bell kept talking after a short break "Ais, do not cry over me getting hurt. Don't have any regrets because accidents happen. I will do the same thing again and again if your life is in danger. You mean everything to me."

That brought tears to both their eyes, but Bell was very tired so he soon closed his eyes to sleep again.

With Bell waking up even for a couple minutes, everyone was incredibly relieved. People hugged each and cried together. With the major milestone, Airmid quickly had everyone leave Bell's room so he could sleep...


	8. Chapter 8

**Stimulation**

\- The Next Day -

Airmid set up a detailed treatment plan for Bell. There was 20 hours of sleep and rest, 2 one hour sessions of 'stimulation' and 2 one hour sessions of fairy tales reading. As she explained it to the group, Hestia gave Airmid a subtle smile which made Airmid sort of uncomfortable.

Always being a direct person, Airmid "Goddess Hestia, is something wrong?"

Hestia "I just thought I would add you to the list of pretty girls to help in Bell's stimulation"

Blushing Airmid "No, that is impossible. Physician-Patient relationships have strict guidelines"

Hestia "But even if it is part of the treatment? Is it not the physician's job to do everything in her power to help the patient?"

Dian Cecht "We have all seen the power of stimulation here. So I will allow it. Airmid, you must perform your sacred duty as a physician!"

After her head was patted, tomato-red Airmid agreed to perform her duty.

An hour later, it was time for the 1st session of fairy tales, and Tiona was front and center for 30 minutes. Then Ryuu did the second 30 minutes of fairy tale reading.

Afterward, it was time for stimulation, and Hestia took the center stage.

Hestia to Bell "Bell-kun, we have an additional pretty girl. We hope that you will enjoy your stimulation session like the naughty boy we know you are. Now the new pretty girl is none other than our super-hot doctor Airmid"

Tomato-red Airmid "This is really embarrassing for me, Bell-kun. However, I also watched you in the tournament and saw how amazing you were defeating 4 level 6 adventurers, one after another. And then the most incredible thing was how you risked everything to save Ais. That is when I realized how you are the perfect hero. So Bell-kun, you are my hero too. Because of this, I have started having feelings for you even though it is forbidden. Well, with my Lord Dian Cecht's permission, I will show you some of my affection", then Bell received 2 kisses, one on each cheek.

After Airmid, the other girls got their turns. With Ais again going last, she was starting to get pretty jealous of all the attention from other pretty girls. Nevertheless, even with the golden eyes getting a serious green tint, she wanted Bell to receive the necessary stimulation to recover. But she was still getting a bit petty about it, before her long kiss, she gave Bell 2 extra kisses for each kiss from the other girls. With Ais taking so long, others were wondering what was going on...

After the long kiss, Bell's eyes opened again like clock-work. Still looking tired, he smiled at Ais.

Blushing Bell "Thank you Ais for taking care of me even though you are in a cast yourself."

Blushing Ais "But you are my hero now, and I must take care of my hero"

Ais getting serious "Everyone also wants to talk to you."

Ais to the ones lifting her cast "Please move me away so everyone can say hi to Bell"

Bell "Hi everyone, thank you for everything you have done."

A teary Bell looking at Hestia "Goddess Hestia, I am sorry I made you so worried."

Hestia "Bell-kun, you just focus on rest and recovery. Don't worry about me."

Bell "Goddess you are so kind to me. You even said you would allow me to leave your familia. I just want you to know that I would never leave you. Never. You have sacrificed so much for me and I can never repay you enough"

With that, Hestia start crying out loud and had to be hugged by Haruhime and Lili to comfort her.

Bell "Finn, Bete, Mia, I will recover as soon as I can so you can get your rematch"

Bete boasted "Bell, don't worry about that now. Just get better. There is plenty of time for me to give you a lap pillow", which made Tiona and Tione giggle.

Mia laughed "Bell, when you get better, you come eat at the Hostess for free. 100 free nights and all-you-can-eat. I have some new recipes for you to try. But next time, I will be the one serving the blueberry pie!"

Bell "I love blueberry pie!"

Finn "Bell, don't worry about the rematch. I know you will work as hard as you can. We are all counting on it"

Bell smiled and then looked at Loki "Goddess Loki, thank you for your kind words. I am glad that my injury may have brought our familias closer together. I hope to work with your members in the future"

Loki "Bell, yes, what happened definitely brought all of us closer together. We will stop the silly bickering, because there are serious things we need to do together", which was met with verbal approval from Hestia.

Bell looked at Freya "Goddess Freya, thank you for everything you did for me and for Ais. Count on me when it comes time to fight the black dragon. I am all in"

Freya smiled "Bell-kun, I am counting on it. Ottar will be waiting to spar with you"

At that point, Bell got a bit too tired and soon fell back asleep, so everyone quietly left the room.

Later that afternoon, Haruhime did the 1st 30 minutes of fairy tales reading, with Syr getting the 2nd 30 minutes. The stimulation was performed again right after the reading. After Ais' long kiss, Bell's eyes opened again.

Embarrassed Bell "Ais, you are spoiling me with your kisses. I do treasure them very much"

Embarrassed Ais said shyly "You need to get better so you can kiss me back"

Red-faced Bell "Do I have your permission to kiss you?"

Ais with deep blush and mini-Ais in bliss "Yes, you may kiss me as many times as you want."

Recovering her composure, Ais "Everyone, please move me again so Bell can talk to everyone"

Bell to Welf "Welf, thank you for being there for me. I cannot wait till I get home so we can go hang out", which got a thumbs up from Welf.

Bell to Airmid "Airmid, thank you for treating me. I promise I will be a good patient when I get out of the cast".

Airmid smiled "I am going to remind you of that when you push too hard"

Bell to Haruhime and Lili "I cannot wait to get home. We definitely need to go on that vacation. And I want to cook breakfast again. Haruhime, but you have to tell me who taught you that tail trick you have been doing", which brought a happy cheer from Haruhime and Lili.

Bell to Riveria "Thank you lady Riveria. I heard what you said and it meant a lot to me. When I get better, I would like to hear more about Ais", making Ais really worried and embarrassed.

Riveria laughed "Bell-kun, I have a lot juicy details to tell you, assuming Ais does not kill me first", which made Ais even more worried as she will soon be betrayed.

Bell to Eina "Eina, I am so sorry I got you worried. Thank you for taking care of me. And thank you for always being there for me"

Eina "Bell-kun, just get better, and we can worry about everything else later."

Bell to the amazon twins "Tiona and Tione, you have been helping me from the beginning. Thank you so much. May be you can tell me some stories about Ais also", surprising Lili and Hestia with his level of cheating skills.

Tiona and Tione "Argonaut kun, we promise to tell you everything about Ais. Including how much the lovely girl is madly in love with you, and how she was obsessing for months about you but would not admit it. Just recover, we also want to spar with you and receive your lap pillow!"

Now Ais is even more worried that almost all her friends will be betraying her.

Bell to Syr "Syr, thank you for all the nice things that you said. I cannot wait to get back so I can eat your breakfast. I also know you have always done things to help me even if I am no where as smart as you. Thank you"

Syr winked "We got the food and all the kisses you need!", making Ryuu blush.

Bell to Ryuu "Ryuu, I was glad to save you when all you have done was to save me so many times. The time we spent together meant a lot to me. Thank you.", making the elf teary eyed and embarrassed at the same time.

Bell to Lefiya "Lefiya, thank you for all the kind things you said. I hope we can go play together with Ais when we recover."

Lefiya "Bell-kun, you can count on it. We will go play together. And I can tell you stories about Ais also", so now Ais has confirmation that all her friends will be betraying her.

Bell to Ais "Ais, I am getting sleepy again. I love you, and I am going to dream about you now"

Ais, particularly mini-Ais, was quietly ecstatic with the dreamy comment, which also made the others realize how much Bell-kun really knows how to woo a girl...

Bell then quickly fell back asleep...

\- The Next Day -

With Bell appearing to be improved, Airmid used the remainder of the new potion on Bell. After application, a soft glow again appeared for a couple minutes.

An hour later, it was time for fairy tales reading by Tiona and Ryuu. After the reading, stimulation was performed again by all the pretty girls. Only this time, Bell's eyes started to open during Ais' long kiss. With Bell looking at her, it was super embarrassing for Ais, but she did not withdraw from the kiss.

After she was lifted away, Ais told everyone about the improvement in Bell's response.

Airmid "Are you feeling much differently, Bell-kun?"

Bell "I am less dizzy but still very tired"

Airmid "Are you able to move anything?"

Bell "I don't know about my arms or my feet, other than they are kind of itchy"

Airmid "Itchy is good. Means you are still connected to your limbs. Are you sure you can feel your toes?"

Bell "I think so but not absolutely sure since I cannot move"

Airmid "Someone please cut a small hole to both his feet."

As the cast was being cut, they kept talking.

Airmid "Bell, the cast will be selectively cut away after 4 weeks from the surgery. We are only 4 days away from that."

Airmid "You can obviously move your mouth. You can talk so I think you can move your tongue?"

Bell checked his tongue first "Yes, my tongue moves pretty well. Actually it moves better than my mouth for some reason. I can turn my head a bit, but it gets me more dizzy"

Airmid "That is not unexpected. Your tongue is closer to your brain. Well you should exercise your mouth and your tongue as much as you are comfortable. Don't turn your head if it gets your dizzy. We will take it one step at a time."

Bell "Ok, do you mean talking as exercise?"

Airmid "Open and close your mouth a lot, even when you are not talking. Move your tongue up and down and left and right. That is some exercise that will help with your recovery"

Bell "All right, I will do that while we talk"

Airmid "We used a special potion that you may be aware of. There has been 2 applications. The first time was the day you opened your eyes. The second time was earlier today. It seems to be helping. The kissing stimulation seems to be working also. Particularly the ones from Ais.", making Bell and Ais both embarrassed.

Airmid "Are you able to kiss? That is also a good exercise for you", as Hestia and Lili almost ROTFLOL thinking about Bell the cheater.

Bell made the kissing motion "Yes, I can do it."

Airmid "Then try kissing Ais back when you wake up"

Tomato-red Bell "Alright, I will do that", as Ais got embarrassed while Tiona, Tione and Riveria giggled in the back.

Airmid "So remember when you wake up, keep opening and closing your mouth. Keep moving your tongue. It is important"

Bell "Understood"

Airmid "Well, now that the holes have been cut into the cast, how does this feel?", as Airmid used a feather on his left foot.

Bell "LOL that tickles LOL"

Airmid "How does it feel now?", as Airmid used the feather on the right foot"

Bell "LOL LOL, stop, it tickles LOL"

Airmid "Good, both your feet are still connected. I am going to give it a few more days before testing your fingers."

With that, the physician exam was done. It was a bit strange while Bell was messing with his mouth and tongue like a fish, but everyone got used to it.

Hestia "Bell-kun, how are you feeling? Are you able to talk more"

Bell "Yes, I do feel better than yesterday"

Lilli "Bell-sama, I think you are improving. You sound different"

Bell "Yes thanks to all of you"

Finn "When the cast comes off, you can exercise your arms. Before you know it, we will be arm wrestling and then back to sparring!"

Bell "Haruhime, you never told me who taught you the tail trick"

Embarrassed Haruhime "It was Lady Hestia and Lady Lili"

Exposed, Lili "We did not corrupt her, Bell-sama, Haruhime is just naturally talented", making Haruhime red.

As the bantering got worse, everyone was feeling better. It appeared normalcy was starting to creep back into their lives.

After another couple minutes of conversation, Airmid wanted Bell go back to sleep even if he was able to stay awake. So everyone left the room and Bell closed his eyes to rest.

A few hours later, it was time for more fairy tale reading by Haruhime and Syr.

Then it was time for more kissing by the pretty girls. When it came time for Ais' long kiss, Bell's eyes opened again in the middle of the kiss. Remembering Airmid's instruction, he kissed Ais back, making both very embarrassed. As the mutual kissing continued, it was getting a bit steamy under their casts but they continued so Bell would get the proper exercise.

After Ais was lifted away, Airmid had some more doctor questions.

Airmid "Did you kiss Ais back?"

Bell "Yes, I did"

Airmid "How did it go?"

Red faced Bell "It felt great", making Ais tomato-red and induced more snickers from Tiona, Tione and Riveria.

Airmid "I meant did your mouth move correctly? Did you get tired? Any other strange sensations?"

Bell "No, everything worked fine. After a while, I did get a little tired. No other sensation other than it was wonderful", making Ais even redder and the Loki familia trio in the back enjoying themselves even more.

Airmid "I see that you are still opening and closing your mouth and moving your tongue around. Great. Keep doing that. Hopefully we can give you additional exercises soon"

After that, everyone talked to Bell about what happened in the last few weeks. About the searches for the 3 rare ingredients. And also how much it was a huge collaboration between Loki, Freya, Hermes, Take, Miach, Hephaestus and Hestia.

\- The Next Day -

The morning went smoothly with the fairy tale reading by Tiona and Ryuu. Then the stimulation also went smoothly with all the girls kissing Bell as before.

When it came to Ais' long kiss, Bell's eyes also opened during the kiss and he kissed her back again. As he had become accustom to the tongue and mouth exercises, he started his exercises, which shocked Ais and caused her eyes to open super-wide. The sensation was unique but she realized it was important that Bell is stimulated. Nevertheless, it was too embarrassing for her to keep looking at Bell, while mini-Ais was hiding in the fetal position. Thus she closed her eyes while Bell continued exercising. As things got pretty steamy, Airmid, ever perceptive, noticed something happened.

After Ais was moved away so they could talk to Bell, Airmid needed to know what happened.

Airmid "Ais, what happened in the middle of the kiss"

Ais did not know what to say "Well..."

Airmid "Ais, so something happened. I am his doctor. I need to know."

Tomato-red Ais "Well he kissed me back. But then his tongue was doing things..."

With that information or actually too-much-information, the room became totally silent. Hestia and Lili gave each other knowing looks about Bell-kun the cheater. So did Riveria and the twins. But no one knew what to say. Ryuu and Syr looked at each other with the elf's ears bright red but Syr with a smirk about Bell-kun.

Airmid also understood what happened, but she did not know what to say so she did the best she could.

Airmid though quickly recovered "Oh, I see. So Bell was exercising when he woke up. How diligent", thereby skillfully avoiding the topic.

With that answer, Airmid quickly remarked that things were ok and she had to check on other patients.

Hestia being coy "Bell-kun, I gave my word that you can do whatever you want. So I will live by my words."

Loki looking a bit shellshocked "I did also give my word. So you two youngins do whatever you want."

Riveria smirking "Me too"

Tiona and Tione "We want more details!", but Riveria hit both on the head with her staff.

Then there was an awkward silence, before Finn skillfully changed the topic.

Finn "Oh, Bell, I think you will find this interesting. Lady Hestia and Lady Loki worked out an alternative arrangement for the tournament result. Instead of Lady Loki personally serving Lady Hestia, our familia will be in the service for Lady Hestia to earn money for 1 week. The money we make will be used to help pay back the 200 million valis debt."

Bell "That is wonderful. That would really help Goddess Hestia. Thank you"

Finn "So if you cast removal goes well, then Riveria, Gareth, Tiona, Tione, Bete, myself and a few others will be going into the dungeon."

Bell "I am glad the new arrangement was reached"

Loki "I am glad too lol"

Freya "Well, I was looking forward to Loki in a maid outfit lol"

Hestia laughed "I must say Loki made me an offer I could not refuse"

Airmid soon came back and said Bell needed his beauty rest...

\- Three Days Later -

It became obvious that Bell was improving mentally. The story reading continued and the kisses continued. So did the steamy exercises that made Ais close her eyes. But now it was the big day for removing most of the cast.

Airmid started with Ais first, and most of Ais' cast was cut away. The broken bones seemed all healed. They then systematically tested her fingers, then her wrists, then her elbows and the shoulders. Everything seemed to be in good working order. The legs were next. It was toes, then ankles, then knees and then hips. Again seem to be all good. With everything working, the sword princess seemed to be healed. With Tiona and Tione helping, Ais was lifted up from the bed and took her first step. Having be bedridden for 4 weeks, her legs were a bit weak. After almost falling, she started to get her legs back.

Airmid "Excellent, let's not push it with the walking. You should stay in bed and only walk 20 minutes per day for the next 2 days. Only do the walking exercise when someone is supporting you. We will get you some small weights to lift. You do also do some leg lifts."

Ais was excited "Airmid, thank you so much"

Now it was time for Bell's turn, and most of his cast was cut away. His bones seemed to be all healed. However, the tests were not good...


	9. Chapter 9

**Bad News**

While Ais' recovery seemed to be going well, Bell's tests were not good at all.

Airmid announced the bad news "First, all of Bell-kun's limbs work. And all the broken bones healed really well. Now the bad news. The muscles in his arm, shoulder and legs were terribly damaged. While they were repaired, they have degenerated a lot. After he has rehabbed, my estimate is that he would be fighting like a level 2 or 3 instead of level 6."

Hestia was very upset "Airmid, but what about all the healing potions"

Airmid "The special healing potion was for his brain trauma. That seemed to be working well. The other healing potions and healing spells did their job. The bones healed great."

Airmid "While the news is bad, it does not mean he cannot regain his strength. However, it would take a normal persons years to do that. For Bell, it may be less, but we are talking at least months, not weeks. A good estimate is the same amount of time he took to gain those levels."

Loki "What about magic"

Airmid "I believe both Ais and Bell have recovered from the brain trauma, but we need to test their magic."

Finn "We should test that as soon as they are ready"

Airmid "Give it a couple days before we start testing the magic. In the meantime, allow Ais and Bell to get used to walking and doing daily tasks. No training or even arm wrestling at this point. Then we can start to confirm what Bell-kun's strength level and agility levels actually are.

Freya "Are there any potions or magic that we can find?"

Airmid "I will talk to Naaza and Miach to see if there is anything at all. I do not remember any"

Ais "Bell, we will rehab and you will get better"

Bell "Yes I will work as hard as I can as soon as I am able"

Hestia "Bell-kun, I have confidence in you. It may take time, but you will fully recover", though she started thinking about her arcanum again...

Loki "Bell-kun, be patient, we are grateful that you survived. Let's be grateful that you are in a position to rehab."

Finn "Bell, take your time. We will figure it out"

Tiona "Argonaut-kun, we will help you rehab. Looks like I will be giving you some lap pillow, or a lot of lap pillows lol"

\- Two Days Later -

In another sign of progress, Bell was able to wake himself up. Thus the need for stimulation was reduced, disappointing many girls as it could no longer justify the time needed for the service. Nevertheless, Ais and Bell did continue their steamy sessions just in case it was providing additional benefit.

Physically, both Ais and Bell were able to walk and jog. Bell also started lifting small weights. Indeed he could tell that he was much weaker than before. Ais' rehab was going well and was able lift much heavier weights.

Unfortunately Airmid and Naaza were not able to figure out anything potion or other magic to help.

\- Five Days Later -

Physically, Ais was doing very well, able to run, punch and kick. Bell was able to jog and lift heavier weights. With encouragement from everyone, he rehabbed as hard as Airmid would allow him.

On the magic front, it was time to test their magic. Not wanting to go back to the colosseum, they took Ais and Bell to a safe location outside the city.

Bell was able to activate firebolt. The spell seemed to be even stronger than before, as expected from the level up. In a few days, Bell would be trying to charge argonaut.

Ais was able to activated ariel, but they also chose not to test flying at this point.

With their recovery in progress, the Loki familia went into the dungeon for their week long Hestia funding mission.

\- Another Week Later -

Both Ais and Bell were able to run, punch and kick. In fact, Ais' strength was almost fully recovered. Tests on Bell's strength indicated he currently had the strength of about a level 2.

It was time for more substantial magic testing. At the same location outside the city, Bell charged argonaut successfully, and he used a 30-second charge firebolt to destroy an old shed. Afterward, Ais tested ariel again, but this time, she did take off for a short flight without testing lil rafaga.

As a result of their progress, both were discharged from the hospital. Both still had to drop by everyday for continued monitoring by Airmid.

Later that day, the Loki familia executives returned from the dungeon with a lot of treasure. After selling all the items, the earnings was 150 million valors, reducing Hestia's debt to only 50 million valors. Ais also promised that she would contribute her week of fundraising for Hestia when she is fully recovered.

Later that evening, there would be a big party to celebrate their discharge as well as the huge debt reduction at the Hostess.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Big Celebration**

In celebration of the hospital discharge and the debt reduction, there was a big party at the Hostess. There were so many in the party that the Hostess could not accept other customers.

Of the VIPs, there were Loki, Freya, Hestia, Hermes, Take, Miach and Hephaestus. The guild also sent Eina and Misha. Of course the Hestia members and the Loki executives were there. Others included Take members, Miach members, Lefiya, Ottar, Asfi and Tsubaki. Airmid and Dian Cecht also attended. With the normal waitresses sitting down as guests, Momma had to recruit help to serve the food.

Hestia first got up to thank everyone "Welcome, I want to thank you all for your help in saving Bell-kun and Ais. Also thank you for helping them recover from that horrible accident. Hope you will enjoy the food tonight as Momma Mia went all out! Cheers!"

Loki was next "Yes, I also want to thank everyone for helping and saving Ais and Bell-kun. Of course, I want to especially thank Bell-kun for saving Ais in the tournament. Cheers"

Hestia then got up again "I also want to thank Loki, Finn, Riveria, Bete, Tiona, Gareth and Tione for their help in my debt payment mission. Thank you. I really appreciate it! Cheers!"

Hephaestus chipped in "Yes, thank you Loki familia! I appreciate the business!"

After the initial cheers, the food was served in huge servings.

About ten minutes into the dinner, Airmid got up and gave everyone an update on the condition of Ais and Bell-kun.

Airmid "First, Ais is almost fully recovered. I expect she will be her old self in another week"

Airmid continued "Bell-kun's bones are completely healed. His mind also seems to be also recovered from the brain trauma. The remaining issue is the deterioration of his muscles. His strength and stamina are currently similar to a level 2. Since he was fighting at a much higher level before the accident, approximately level 7, he has a long way to go"

Airmid kept going "How long a recovery? It is hard to say. I do believe that he will get his full strength and stamina back, but it will take a least some months. A good estimate for his recovery is the amount of time it took for Bell-kun to originally gain his levels. I believe that was 1-2 months per level. We will know a lot more in a month or two"

Airmid concluded "So Ais can get back to adventuring within a week, but I would not permit Bell-kun to go back in the dungeon at least until he reaches level 3 in strength. We want to verify our recovery projections with his actual recovery before allowing him to return to the dungeon."

Finn then chipped in "Bell, this is not horrible. Work hard and get back to level 3 in strength. Then you can also join us in expeditions if you like.

Loki "With Bell-kun being so important to our future, I will allow Ais or another level 6 to accompany Bell-kun in other missions when he is not fully recovered"

Hestia "Thank you Loki"

Bell "Thank you Lady Loki. Thank you Finn. It would be an honor to take part in your adventures but I don't want to be a burden"

Lefiya "Bell-kun, you can contribute in a mage role like me while your body is recovering."

Hestia "That is interesting. So Bell-kun gets to raise his magic stats while his body recovers. He would still be able to improve even during this recovery process"

Freya "Bell-kun, you are also welcome to join in on our missions. Ottar will plan some if you are interested. It will be deep missions at least to the 37th floor. Loki members are also invited."

Ottar "We have not done many dungeon missions lately, but we can plan several missions that Bell can join in"

Bell "Thank you Lady Freya and thank you Ottar. It would be a great honor for me"

As dessert was served, it was time for the entertainment portion of the evening.

Tiona, Tione, Riveria, Loki and Lefiya got up to do their share.

Riveria "We promised Bell-kun a full story-telling about Ais. Since we are all friends, we will share this sweet wonderful story tonight. Also we are going to do something more special than simply telling a story. Instead we will reenact what happened you can form your own opinion", which made Ais very very worried.

Tiona "Yes, this is based on our recollection of all the cute things that Ais did. So you can judge for yourself", causing the frightened mini-Ais to go into fetal position.

Lili and Hestia then got up to add "We will follow the Loki familia entertainment with our own reenactment of what cute things that Bell-kun did. It is only fair that both stories are told in their full glory. Everyone, we are going to have a great fun evening!" which caused Bell-kun to sweat profusely.

Both Bell and Ais went all pale. This evening was going to be epic, and all at their expense...

Riveria "Here is Act 1 - The beginning of our story on the 5th floor of the dungeon"

\- Act 1 -

Bell (actually Raul with white wig and red contact lenses) is being chased by a minotaur (Bete in minotaur costume). Bell (Raul) is pressed against the wall by the minotaur (Bete), but is rescue when Ais (Lefiya with blonde wig, gold contact lenses, Ais' white mini-skirt and metal handband) attacks and knocks down the minotaur (Bete).

Ais (Lefiya) "Are you alright?"

Bell (Raul) runs away while screaming...

Ais (Lefiya) looking sad "He ran away"

Person from Audience "Lol, Bell ran away from Ais. She scared him more than the mino lol"

2nd Person from Audience "Lol, Ais is sad that Bell ran away lol"

Bell was embarrassed remembering his shame.

Riveria "Here is Act 2 - About 2 weeks later on the 3rd floor of the dungeon"

\- Act 2 -

Bell (Raul with white wig and red contact lenses) - "firebolt, firebolt, firebolt, firebolt, firebolt" - 'killing' a bunch of monsters (Maria's orphanage kids dressed in kobold costumes)

Bell (Raul) - "... Oh I am getting dizzy ...", falls down on the floor and 'faints'

Riveria and Ais (Lefiya with blonde wig, gold contact lenses and Ais' white mini-skirt and metal handband) approach from entrance way

Riveria "Oh looks like someone has fallen"

Riveria goes check on Bell (Raul) "No exterior damage. Looks like mind down. He used too much magic"

Ais (Lefiya) "Oh"

Riveria "That child, do you know him?"

Ais (Lefiya) "I have never spoken to him. You know how we spoken about the boy who was attacked by the minotaur?"

Riveria "So this is the boy"

Ais (Lefiya) "Riveria, I would like to make it up to him"

Riveria smiled "There are other ways to say that"

Riveria winked at the audience "However, if that is what you really want to do, you do it by yourself. Do what I am about to tell you, but I am heading back to the surface"

Then Riveria whispers into Ais (Lefiya)'s ears.

Ais (Lefiya) "Riveria, Are you sure it is enough?"

Riveria "Ais, it should be enough. No man can resist your service"

Ais (Lefiya) sits down on the ground and puts Bell (Raul)'s head on her lap for the lap pillow. Ais (Lefiya) looked really happy.

Ais (Lefiya) "This is kind of embarrassing"

After a minute, Bell (Raul) wakes up, looks at Ais (Lefiya), and then screamed and ran away.

Ais (Lefiya) pouts "He ran again"

Person from audience "Lol, wth? Bell ran away again. lol"

2nd person from audience "Poor Ais looks so sad"

Welf in the audience "Bell is so pathetic rotflol"

Lili in the audience "Wow, Bell-sama was really pathetic lol"

Both Bell and Ais were looking pretty embarrassed with their own silliness.

Riveria "Here is Act 3 - Later that evening at the Loki Home"

\- Act 3 -

Tiona and Tione looked at Ais being sad (Lefiya with blonde wig, gold contact lenses and Ais' white mini-skirt and metal headband)

Tiona "What is wrong with Ais"

Tione "Look, Momma is going to take care of it", as Riveria approaches Ais

Riveria "What happened"

Ais (Lefiya) "He ran away again"

Riveria looked shock. Then started smiling, then chuckles, then LOL

Tiona "Riveria is laughing?"

Tiona "Ais turned red and is mad!"

Ais (Lefiya) pouts, and started pushing Riveria, beating on Riveria, then pushing Riveria hard!

Tione to Tiona "Are you jealous lol?"

Ais then pouts more and walks away.

Person from Audience "How adorable!"

2nd Person from Audience "Yes, incredibly cute, she has a huge crush!"

Real Ais was now really hiding her face against Bell-kun's chest. Bell-kun was smirking a bit but pet Ais on the head. Tbh, Bell-kun was enjoying Ais' cute side.

Riveria "Here is Act 4 - Shortly after in Goddess Loki's room"

\- Act 4 -

Loki was giving Ais (Lefiya) a status update

Loki "Yoohoo! Ais is level 6" raising her hands in the air.

Ais (Lefiya) was deep in thought...

Loki "Even though you ranked up, you are still depressed ?!"

Loki "Looks like you have something on your mind other than getting stronger?"

Ais (Lefiya) sadly "Yes..."

Loki "Don't tell me you are love sick! You like some guy?"

Ais (Lefiya) looks away

Loki "Ais-tan, don't ignore me!"

Person from Audience "OMG, it is puppy love!"

2nd Person from Audience "It is such a cute story!"

3rd Person from Audience "No wonder no one else has a chance with the sword princess!"

Even Bell-kun was smiling and laughing, which got an upset Ais to pout at him. With the super powerful pout, Bell-kun was immediately defeated and kept quiet.

Riveria "Here is Act 5 - At the Guild"

\- Act 5 -

Ais (Lefiya) and Eina are talking together.

Ais (Lefiya) "What is his name!"

Eina "Bell Cranel"

Ais (Leifya) "I would like to return this item to him"

Eina "Sure, I would be happy to give it to him"

Ais (Lefiya) "Actually I would like to give it to him myself. Would you help me so I can talk to Bell Cranel"

Eina "Don't worry, I will trap the rabbit so that he will talk to you properly"

Bell-kun (Raul) heads towards them but starts to run when he sees Ais (Lefiya)

Eina "Bell-kun, wait. Wallenstein-san, please go catch him"

As Ais (Lefiya) catches up, Bell-kun (Raul) ran into her and she grabbed him. Eina then caught up to them.

Eina "Bell-kun, Lady Wallenstein has something to talk to you about. You have to talk to Wallenstein-san properly!"

Bell-kun (Raul) looks down "Yes, Eina-san"

Ais (Lefiya) "I want to return this." then giving him the arm protector.

Ais (Lefiya) "And I want to apologize for my mistake that caused the minotaur to attack you", then bowed to Bell-kun (Raul).

Bell-kun (Raul) bowed back "Please, I am the one who needs to apologize for running away and not thanking you for saving me"

As they both got up from their bows, they laughed at the silly scene they were in.

Ais (Lefiya) "The tenth floor, you are making great progress"

Bell-kun (Raul) "No, I am just an amateur. I have a long way to go"

Ais (Lefiya) "Do you want me to teach you?"

Bell-kun (Raul) "Yes I would!"

Person from Audience "They are so adorable"

Welf in the audience "Bell, you needed the girl to ask you out ROTFLOL"

Lili in the audience "Bell-sama, Lili is disappointed with your performance lol"

2nd Person from Audience "Wow, Ais asked Bell out, how amazing", making Ais really blush

3rd Person from Audience "No wonder no one else has a chance with the sword princess!"

Riveria "Here is Act 6 - At a remote location on top of the city walls"

\- Act 6 -

Ais (Lefiya) and Bell-kun (Raul) are sparring. Bell-kun (Raul) is knocked unconscious, and Ais (Lefiya) gives him a lap pillow, Bell-kun (Raul) wakes up, screams and runs away. Then they spar again, Bell-kun (Raul) is knocked unconscious again, and Ais (Lefiya) again gives him another lap pillow. Bell-kun (Raul) again wakes up, screams and runs away again. The process is repeated 5 times before the act finished.

Riveria "Wow, this concludes our reenactment of the Ais and Bell story from the Loki familia perspective. Hope you enjoyed it!"

Riveria "Bell-kun, what do you think?"

Bell-kun smiled "It was wonderful. It is like a dream come true for me!", making Ais beat him while her face was still hidden against his chest...

Riveria, Lefiya, Raul, Tiona, Tione, Eina, Bete, Loki and the kids from Maria's Orphanage all took a bow with the audience applauding.

Now it was time for Bell-kun's humiliation with Welf, Lili and Hestia having evil smirks...


	11. Chapter 11

**Bell Cranel Roast**

With such a high bar set by the sweet heart-warming story about Ais, it would be difficult for the Hestia familia to match.

Nevertheless, shortly after Ais' story, Hestia got up for her turn "We are going to tell Bell-kun's story now. You already saw how Ais-san saved Bell-kun from a minotaur when he was a level 1. Here is what happening right after at the guild in Act 1"

\- Act 1 -

Bell-kun (Lili using Cinder Ella) made his way to the Guild to see Eina Tulle.

Eina "You climbed down to the 5th floor, and you were chased by a minotaur, and you were rescued by Ais Wallenstein?"

Bell (Lili) "That about sums it up"

Eina "I told you over and over again that you must not go on an adventure!"

Bell (Lili) "So what about Wallenstein-san?"

Eina "All the guild can tell you is what is well known. She is a swordswoman who carries the central burden of the Loki familia. She once annihilated a group of level 5 monsters by herself. She recently broke the record of a 1000 failed courtships"

Bell (Lili) "What about her hobbies and interests?"

Eina "Have you fallen for her, Bell-kun?"

Bell (Lili) "Well, ... yes"

Eina "I don't think it will be easy for you to get close to a central figure in the Loki familia", making Bell-kun sad.

Eina cheering Bell-kun up"Well, I do not think Lady Wallenstein is dating anyone. If you become stronger, Lady Wallenstein may notice you"

Bell (Lili) happily runs away "Thanks Eina, I love you!"

Welf in audience "Bell, doing homework on the Kenki behind her back LOL"

Haruhime in audience "Bell-sama is so sly!"

Tiona laughing "Wow, argonaut was smitten with Ais from the beginning! Just like Ais was LOL"

Hestia narrating "Right after Bell talked to Eina, this is what happened at our little home in Act 2"

\- Act 2 -

Hestia updated Bell's (Lili using Cinder Ella) status on the bed, looking shocked.

Hestia "You were saved by Ais Wallenstein, the sword princess?"

Hestia "Here is your status" giving Bell-kun the sheet of paper with his stats.

Bell-kun (Lili) is shocked!

Bell-kun (Lili) "OMG, how is it possible my status went up by that much?"

Hestia "Who knows, I need to go"

As Hestia walks away, she talks to herself "Children in the world are so changeable. I cannot believe someone else is changing him so much! I don't want to admit it!"

Tiona in audience "So Ais is the reason that argonaut got so strong. That is the secret. You need to have the hots for Ais!"

Tione in audience "Such a sweet story. They were meant for each other. He wanted to get strong for Ais!"

Person in audience "Hestia is jealous!"

Hestia narrating "Later that day at dinner, this is what happened at the Hostess in Act 3

\- Act 3 -

Ais (Lefiya in Ais' clothing with blonde wig), Riveria, Tiona, Tione, Bete, Finn and Loki are sitting at a table.

Bell (Lili using Cinder Ella) is at his own table.

Bete loudly "Ais, remember those minos we were after. You killed the last one on the 5th floor. You know, I am talking about that tomato kid"

Tiona "You mean those minotaurs that attacked us on the 17th floors but then fled after their defeat?"

Bete "Guess who they ran into? Some weak rookie. I was laughing my butt off. He was cornered like some trembling rabbit.

Loki "What happened to him?"

Bete "Ais slashed the mino at the last second. The kid was covered in cow blood. He looked like a tomato lol Then that tomato brat screamed and ran away. Our princess got dumped by the guy she just saved lol"

Loki laughed "Our Ais-tan even scares away fellow adventurers lol"

Bete laughed "It was so pathetic he should never have become an adventurer"

Riveria "That is enough. It was our fault that the mino got to the 5th floor"

Bete "Elf-san is being proud as ever. What is wrong with calling garbage garbage?"

Upset, Bell (Lili) runs away as fast as he could. Seeing Bell-kun (Lili), Ais (Lefiya) chased after him but stopped at the door.

Person in audience "Bete is horrible!", making Bete look bad.

2nd person in audience "Poor Bell-kun ran away from Bete's humiliation, how horrible!"

Hestia narrated "After the humiliation, Bell-kun spent all night in the dungeon grinding with no armor. Act 4 shows what happened in our home the next morning"

\- Act 4 -

Bell (Lili) walks in with cuts all over his clothes and blood (tomato juice) all over him.

Hestia "Bell-kun, what happened to you? How can you do something so reckless"

Hestia lends a shoulder to carry Bell (Lili) to a bed.

Hestia updates his status, shocking her.

Hestia "Bell-kun, your growth rate is abnormal compared to normal adventurers. You are in some kind of a growth phase"

Bell (Lili) "I want to be strong" and goes to sleep snoring...

Person in Audience "It was all for Ais"

2nd person in Audience "Wow he must really love her!"

3rd person in Audience "They belong together. They were both madly in love with each other without talking, how incredibly cute!"

Hestia narrated "A few weeks later, you already saw how Bell-kun ran into Ais at the guild with Eina. You also saw Bell-kun being trained by Ais-san and being beat up badly while receiving many lap pillows."

Hestia narrated "Now Act 5 shows Bell-kun facing his worst enemy at the time in the dungeon. He was just a level 1 at the time."

\- Act 5 -

Bell-kun (Lili) and the minotaur (Welf in mino costume) were doing battle. Bell-kun (Lili) was knocked to the ground by the minotaur (Welf). As he struggled to get up, Ais (Lefiya) went up to protect him with her sword drawn.

Ais (Lefiya) "Bell, You did well, but I will save you now"

Bell (Lili) growled "No, I will not allowed Ais Wallenstein to save me any more"

Bell (Lili) got up and battle the minotaur (Welf) for several minutes, ultimately with the mino falling.

Welf in audience "So that was how it happened..."

Person in audience "Bell-kun did it to impress Ais"

Bete in audience "He was being a man. No guy would want the girl to save him again"

2nd person in audience "Well, it was all for the girl"

Hestia narrated "After defeating the minotaur, Bell-kun ranked up to level 2."

Hestia continued "There was then the infamous peeking on the 18th floor where Bell-kun the cheater peeked on Ais and many pretty girls as they were bathing, but that day of infamy will not be reenacted here."

Hestia narrated "In Act 6, which happened about a few days after the peeking, Bell-kun attended Apollo's ball as so did Ais-san"

\- Act 6 -

Hermes, in a tuxedo, and Bell-kun (Lili), also in a tuxedo, are talking next to each other. Ais (Lefiya) in a long green dress are across the room by herself.

Hermes "Bell-kun, so which beautiful young lady will you ask to dance"

Bell-kun (Lili) "..." but looked at Ais (Lefiya)

Hermes "Oh the Kenki, you do not mess around. Bell-kun"

Hermes grabbed Bell-kun (Lili) by the hand and dragged him towards Ais (Lefiya)

Bell (Lili) "... ... ..."

Hermes bowed to Ais "Dear Kenki, you look so beautiful tonight. May I have this dance"

Ais (Lefiya) "... ... ..."

As Ais (Lefiya) did not know what to say, Hermes "Oh no, I am incredibly sorry. I have a prior commitment. Bell-kun, to save my honor, you have to dance with the Kenki as I must go to my prior commitment. You have to protect my honor, Bell-kun", with Hermes walking away smiling.

Bell (Lili) looked nervously at Ais "... ... ..."

Ais (Lefiya) looked nervously at Bell (Lili)

Seeing the awkward moment, Miach and Naaza walked by them.

Miach bowed to Naaza "My lady, may I have this dance"

Naaza giving Miach her hand "It would be my pleasure"

Learning from the example, Bell-kun (Lili) turned to Ais (Lefiya) and bowed "My lady, may I have this dance"

Ais (Lefiya) gave Bell-kun (Lili) her hand "It would be my pleasure"

Ais (Lefiya) and Bell-kun (Lili) started trying to dance but were very bad at it. Seeing this, Mikoto and Take danced close to them to show them the proper way to dance. Ais (Lefiya) and Bell (Lili) copied them and danced much better.

Tiona in audience "So Lord Hermes made their dance happen"

Welf in audience "So at least Bell was able to ask Ais to dance, even with lots of help."

Person in audience "They look so good dancing together"

2nd person in audience "What a sweet story!"

Hestia narrated "Well, after that dance, we all know what happened in the last 4 months, the advancement from level 2 to 6, with the latest where Bell-kun saved Ais from certain death in the tournament."

Hestia narrated "In the last act, Bell-kun and Ais-san are in the hospital. Ais-san and many of you used stimulation from kissing and sweet words to help wake Bell-kun up from his coma. Act 7 has Bell-kun and Ais-tan after Ais' sleeping beauty kiss, which just woke up Bell-kun"

\- Act 7 -

Bell-kun (Lili) was lying down on the bed while Ais (Lefiya) was looking down at Bell-kun (Lili)

Bell (Lili) confessed to Ais (Lefiya) "Ais, you are the reason I worked so hard. Everything was because of you. When I first met you, you were the perfect girl that I could never hope to reach. That is why I worked so hard to try to be worthy of being with you."

Bell (Lili) continued "Ais, do not cry over me getting hurt. Don't have any regrets because accidents happen. I will do the same thing again and again if your life is in danger. You mean everything to me."

Hestia continued to narrate "Then the next time Ais woke Bell-kun up, it got even better"

Bell (Lili) "Thank you Ais for taking care of me."

Ais (Lefiya) "But you are my hero now, and I must take care of my hero"

Bell (Lili) "Ais, you are spoiling me with your kisses. I do treasure them very much"

Ais (Lefiya) said shyly "You need to get better so you can kiss me back"

Bell (Lili) "Do I have your permission to kiss you?"

Ais (Lefiya) "Yes, you may kiss me as many times as you want."

Bell (Lili) "Ais, I am getting sleepy again. I love you, and I am going to dream about you now"

Person in Audience "Bell is just so smooth with the ladies, imagine telling her he dreams about her!"

2nd person in Audience "He finally confessed. Such a sweet love!"

Tsubaki in audience "Bell-kun took so long. Should have been a done deal months ago!"

Welf in audience "Bell has card blanche with kisses from Ais-san"

Haruhime in audience "Wow, Ais-san is allowing Bell-kun to be naughty", making Bell-kun and Ais squirm.

Several pretty girls thought "Wow, I am so jealous. I have no chance against Ais... He is crazy about her. No, they are crazy about each other. What can I possibly do?"

Hestia narrated "And that is the last act of our reenactment of the Ais and Bell story from the Hestia familia point of view. Thank you everyone!"

Hestia "Now Ais-san, did our Bell-kun share with you his deepest feelings and most precious memories like these?"

Ais "Your presentation has made me very happy. This is wonderful. Thank you", where Bell has melted with embarrassment and was totally defeated. Seeing Bell-kun's helpless state, Ais gave him a kiss on the cheek.

At that point, Loki got up to make announcement...


	12. Chapter 12

Note to readers, when I say giving someone a lap pillow - it is half-joking and a 'catch-all' for silly interactions - especially if something like Welf giving Bell a lap pillow. I thought that was clear but apparently not.**  
**

**Moving Forward**

After Bell-kun and Ais were thoroughly teased by their colleagues and goddesses, Loki wanted to make an announcement.

Loki "The Loki Familia will be planning an expedition to the 50th floor. With full expectations with Bell-kun will reach level 3 strength within 6 weeks, that is the target date of our expedition. We welcome other familias to join though we are setting a level 4 minimum. Having smiths joining would be a great help, Hephaestus"

Finn "Please contact me if you want to go. We do expect this to be a fun trip."

With the new expedition as the last major piece of business for the evening, many got thoroughly drunk and had to be carried home, including Gareth, Bete, Tsubaki, Ouka and Welf. Even in the merry atmosphere, many did noticed that Ais left with the Hestia familia. As Loki had announced, a level 6 would always stay with Bell-kun during his recovery. At Hestia's insistence, Ais would sleep on a different floor as Bell-kun...

\- A Week Later -

Bell was still slowly rebuilding his strength. He had reached a point where Airmid will allow him to spar. Airmid did attended Bell-kun's sparring to monitor his progress. To start, Bell started sparring with Welf and Ouka for 2 hours in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon, leaving plenty of time for test and recovery. Welf and Bell were pretty even strength-wise when they started, while Ouka was able to give Bell a couple lap pillows.

In his off-time, Bell practiced his magic, firing firebolts into dummy targets for 3 hours after dinner.

Everyone was fully satisfied with Ais' recovery, as she had regained her full strength. They also successfully tested lil lafarga. While Bell started sparring, Ais went into the dungeon for her Hestia funding mission. Tiona, Tione, Lefiya and Bete went along with her. When Ais was in the dungeon, Gareth stayed with the Hestia familia as a bodyguard for Bell-kun.

\- Three Days Later -

Airmid was satisfied with Bell-kun's conditioning, allowing him to increase training time to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. After the 3 days, Bell was still pretty even with Welf, but Ouka was no longer a mismatch. After dinner, Bell-kun continued to practice his magic for 3 hours.

In the dungeon, Ais and her group were hunting for magic stones and drop items between the 37th and 45th floors.

\- Four Days Later -

Ais and her group had returned from the Hestia funding mission. It was quite successful, with Ais' share of the treasure worth 30 million valors. That brought Hestia's debt down 20 million valors, a tenth of the original number. There was a mini-celebration for the Hestia members and the Loki members.

Bell continued to progress in his training at his typical accelerated level. By the end of the week, there was clear improvement in his strength. Instead of a typical level 2 adventurer, he was closer to his original strength when he reached level 2 several months ago. As a result, Bell gave Welf a couple lap pillows, while Bell was about even with Ouka.

With the return of Ais and her group, Bell started sparring with Ais and Tiona for 3 hours in the morning. Ais could tell that Bell was still weaker than before the Apollo War Games. Thus, there were many lap pillows served everyday, making both Ais and Tiona happy.

In the afternoon, Bell would spar with Ouka for 2 hours. When Ouka was not available, Mikoto and Welf would team up to battle with Bell. That was quite a mismatch with Bell having lost a lot of speed, which allowed Welf to gave Bell more lap pillows.

In the evening, Bell continued to practice his firebolt for 3 hours. Ais and Bell would also start practice a joint attack with firebolt and ariel in which they time their attacks. With the resulting fiery tornado, they had to find a safe location to practice they join attacks outside the city.

\- A week Later -

Bell continued to progress in both his strength and speed. By the end of the week, he appeared to reach his original level 2 strength, which is similar to a typical level 3.

Bell also continued to be beat up by Ais and Tiona. In fact, Tiona was having so much fun that Tione decided to join in the lap pillow fest.

With Airmid's approval, Bell was now practicing 3 hours in the morning with Ais, Tiona and Tione. In the afternoon, he practiced for 1 hour with Ouka and 1 hour with Mikoto and Welf and 1 hour with Ais.

With the week of progress, Bell was giving lap pillows to Ouka while receiving far less lap pillows from the team of Welf and Mikoto.

In the evening, Bell continued to practice his magic for 3 hours. For half that time, Ais and Bell would be practicing joint attacks with firebolt and ariel to improve their aim and timing.

\- Another Week Later -

Bell's rate of progress continued to be at his 'typical' fast pace. By the end of the week, Ais believed that he had finally returned to the strength and speed he reached before the Apollo War Games.

For the morning, Bell-kun still sparred with Ais, Tione and Tiona. Of course, the girls were still much stronger than Bell, and they could get lap pillows any time they want. And there were so many lap pillows that they had their 'own competition'...

In the afternoon, with Ouka having had too many lap pillows, Aisha replaced Ouka for sparring. At level 4, Aisha had significant advantages over Bell and thus gave Bell many lap pillows.

Bell also made a lot of progress against the team of Welf and Mikoto. As a result, there were no more lap pillows, though they still had an advantage double-teaming him.

In the evenings, magic practice became focused on joint magic use with Ais. By the end of the week, Ais and Bell could synchronized their spell launching. It was a devastating flamethrower whirlwind aimed precisely at targets.

Finally, Airmid tested Bell-kun and determined that he roughly had the strength of a typical level 3. At the end of the week, it was about 1 month after the celebration. Thus, actual improvement was roughly within Airmid's expectations, which was based on Bell-kun track record of 1 level every 1 to 2 months. As a result, Bell-kun was allowed to enter the dungeon again.

**Preparation for the Dungeon Mission**

It was 2 weeks before the mission. While Bell kept sparring to improve his strength and speed. He was also practicing his magic with the mission in mind.

With the initial success of the joint attacks, Bell and Ais wanted to start using argonaut charged firebolt with lil rafaga. That did require Ais to practice carrying Bell-kun in the air. There were 2 obvious options, Ais princess-carrying Bell-kun and Bell-kun getting a piggyback ride from Ais. With the humiliation of being princess carried, they went for the piggyback approach.

The very first time they tested their combined finishing move, they went a good distance away from the city for safety concerns. Both familias also went along to witness the test, and Asfi was flying below for precautionary reasons.

As they got into position, Bell-kun had been charging argonaut for 1 minute. As Ais activated lil rafaga, Bell-kun fired off firebolt. The result was really intense as they launched forward in a huge fiery tornado. With no target, they simply flew a good distance in their flaming inferno, with Asfi again following a good bit below them.

Suddenly, tomato-red Ais "Aaaaah, ... Bell, hand, hand, hand"

Bell-kun, who was captivated by the firestorm, was wondering what Ais was talking about.

As he was starting to ask, he noticed his left hand was clinging on something wonderfully soft and was squeezing regularly and happily by itself. Along with the comfort sensation came instant shocking embarrassment"

Embarrassed Bell "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!", letting go of the softness, though along with the loss of comfort from the stress reduction mechanism.

When Bell-kun let go, he forgot that he was no longer holding onto Ais, thus started falling towards the ground!

Realizing that Bell-kun was falling, Ais sped towards him, as Asfi was also getting ready to intercept the falling Bell-kun. Fortunately, Ais was able to catch Bell-kun pretty quickly before Asfi had to attempt to catch a plummeting adventurer far below. They landed shortly and rendezvous with their familias.

Worried Hestia "What happened, Bell-kun?"

Bell "I forgot and let go and started falling"

Loki "How could you forget, you should have been holding on tight. We do not want a repeat of the tournament!"

Bell "I understand"

Hestia "Bell-kun, whatever happens, do not let go"

Bell-kun "Yes goddess"

Loki "Ais, did you notice anything that caused Bell-kun to let go?"

Having to tell the truth, embarrassed Ais "Bell got nervous and held on to the wrong place. So he let go", causing everyone to OMG and Loki to think perverted thoughts.

Hestia "I promised to let you do whatever you want. I even supported you with all the pretty girls! But flying in ariel is not the time to do such things, Bell-kun!"

Loki "Bell-kun, absolutely no naughty stuff during flight!"

Bell-kun "Goddess Loki, Goddess Hestia, I am sorry, but I was nervous and did not realize what my hand was doing..."

With the mystery unraveled, they started more practices after a short break for recovery potions.

In the following practices, Bell tried hard to control his hand, but after launching argonaut strikes, his hands appeared to have their own mind. Almost half of the time, Ais found the same naughty hand doing the same stress reduction. Having experienced the potential danger, Ais learned to contain her own reaction and only used her hand to move Bell's hand whenever it was doing its own thing...

At the end of the day, Bell-kun's hand was becoming a problem. While there were no more falling incidents, everyone could notice Ais' unusual flight patterns following the launch of the finishing move. That is a dangerous time to lose control at the heat of the battle. Thus, a new flying position had to be figured out.

The next day, it was decided that Bell-kun would be princess carried, despite the embarrassment. Thus, the pair took off to practice while their familias looked on with big grins on their faces.

Bete laughed "I rather die than be princess carried by a girl, lol"

Tione "I bet you would die to be carried by that girl lol", making the wolvie growl.

Tiona laughed "Argonaut-kun is really cute being cradled by Ais, lol"

Finn smiled "This is an embarrassing position for Bell"

Riveria smiled "Seems kind of adorable to me lol"

Hestia "Bell-kun looks ridiculous, but it is safer"

Welf "Bell, that is not a good look, ROTFLOL"

Lili "Welf, don't tease him too much. This is safer"

The results of the test was mixed. They were in control with the finishing move, but however, Ais did not have the use of her hands during flight. Thus, she could not attack or defend herself with her sword, and Bell can only defend against frontal attacks and attacks from the side where his arms were. That brought them back to the drawing board.

The next day, they tried both positions again. But it became wandering paw versus Ais without the use of her hands. However, Asfi came up with a suggestion. She could build a safety harness for Bell-kun so that he is clipped onto Ais to reduce the chance of a free fall, and furthermore, Bell-kun would be linked by a short chain to Ais to prevent a total free fall. This reduced the chance for a deadly accident, but there was no solution for the wandering paw. Ais simply had to learn to fly better when the paw did its own thing. Experiencing the entire mess was making Loki pretty envious...

By the end of the two weeks, substantial progress was made both in strength and speed recovery as well as the joint magic attack.

Bell was able to fight Aisha almost evenly and thus also started sparring with Raul, who gave Bell-kun many lap pillows. Bell-kun was also finally able to fight evenly against the pair of Welf and Mikoto. Thus, Bell-kun physically was roughly at his original level 3 strength and speed.

On the magic front, Bell-kun and Ais had their timing down for simple short-chant strikes as well as launching their finishing move. Also, having adjusted to Bell-kun's free hand during their flight, Ais was able to maintain her flight control much better after their joint release.

Thus they were as prepared as could be when the dungeon mission launched...


	13. Chapter 13

**On to the 50th Floor**

On Finn's command, the 50th floor misson launched early in the morning. It was a collaboration between the Loki, Hestia, Hephaestus and Freya familias. Never had such a large training mission been launched for the benefit of one person.

The first group consisted of Finn, Bell, Ais, Lefiya, Tiona, Tione, Ryuu and a level 4 smith from the Hephaestus familia. In the vanguard was Bell, Ais and Tiona for the first portion of the trip.

The second group, consisting of Gareth, Bete, Riveria, 4 Gulliver brothers and Tsubaki, entered 10 minutes later. In the vanguard were the 4 Gulliver brothers.

Bell-kun would be in the vanguard as long as monsters were below level 3. It gave him a good opportunity to get some physical fighting in. When higher level monsters are present, he would serve in the role of a mage or be in flight with Ais.

It was good for Bell to take part in fighting monsters hand-to-hand, as it had many weeks. Goblins, frogs, ants, rabbits, war shadows, hounds, orcs, silverbacks, minos, it was all good. Bell's winnings would also go into the Hestia debt fund.

Bell smiling "It feels good to get back in the swing of things"

Ais "I am happy to see that you are back into it"

Tiona "That is the argonaut we know and love!"

Finn and Loki timed the expedition and worked things out with the guild so that the 17th floor goliath was reserved for them. More specifically, it was reserved for Bell and Ais. After a short break and a potion, the two flew towards the goliath as the others watched while Lefiya and Riveria prepared their magic as backup.

Ais strictly followed her instructions, which was to fly towards the goliath but not approach. They would only use magic attacks, and would not even give the goliath a chance to get in a 'lucky' shot. Everyone was also pretty eager to see the combination magic in action - firebolt with ariel and if necessary, argonaut firebolt with ariel. The first firebolt-ariel attack did a lot of damage. The second fiery whirlwind knocked the monster down. The third completely finished it. Everyone was happy that argonaut was not even necessary, even if took multiple shots. They now had a new weapon in their arsenal.

Tiona "Wow, they took out the goliath with 3 shots"

Bete "I forgot how powerful Bell is"

Riveria "I guess I am kind of obsolete lol"

Gareth "We both are"

Finn "Same here... The ground army can be replaced by an airborne force"

Timing worked out perfectly with lunch at Rivira. Mord and Bors were happy to see Bell return to action. And even treated Bell and the 1st class adventurers to lunch. Then it was onto the march below with the two group merged back together. At first, Bell got to take down the majority of the trolls, stags, bugbears, lizardmen, firebirds, hornets and bloody hives.

Bete laughed "We are glorified babysitters for 2 teenagers..."

Hearing that, Ryuu and Lefiya laughed while being glorified supporters with large bags of magic stones.

Tiona laughed "Lol, the 2 teenagers have a dungeon date so the parents had to be around for backup."

Gareth "That is precisely the reason they were all there, to make sure the hero gets to recover in style."

When they reached the 24th floor, Bell was told to fall back with Ais and Tiona, while the Gulliver brothers served in the vanguard. They were not going to take any risks with the hero when a level 3 monster could get in a lucky shot. Bell and Ais were to hold their fire and save their energy for the water city. Apparently, they also made reservations at the guild for the amphisbaena. With the 4 level 5 adventurers clearing the way, they quickly reached the 25th floor. As they proceeded, a familiar voice called out to Bell.

Bell "Hi, Marie"

Marie "It is good to see you back in the dungeon"

Bell "Thank you for visiting me when I was in trouble."

Marie "I was glad to do it. I have never been to the surface world before. It is amazing and we were happy that Fels and Hermes arranged for the visit"

Bell "I hope you can visit more often soon. Marie, do you know where the amphisbaena is currently"

After communicating with other mermaids, Marie "It is on the 26th floor. I can take you close to it"

With Marie guiding them, they quickly cut their way to the floor boss. From a standoff distance, Ais and Bell took off in ariel to launch their joint attacks. Like before, Riveria and Lefiya had their spells at the ready as backup. With the monster's breathe weapons, they stayed further away. In rapid order, they launched 3 firebolt-ariel fiery whirlwinds at the boss, causing severe damage. With the monster still standing, they quickly launched another 3 firebolt-ariels, which knocked the monster down. Deciding it was a good time for argonaut, Bell charged for 1 minute while Ais kept their distance from the boss. Then they quickly approached and fired off the 1-minute charge firebolt-ariel, which blew the monster to pieces. Pleased with the results, the group collected the drop item liver as well as the magic stone.

Tiona "Are we even needed? Their magic is insane..."

Gareth laughed "Come on kids, we are here to do the dirty work"

Bete "Yes we are babysitters..."

Finn "Don't worry, things will be more complicated soon"

Afterward, it was time to say good bye to Marie and continue down the dungeon. With Bete and the amazons getting bored, they soon got their chance at the vanguard until they reached the 37th floor. While Bell and Ais still fired away at large concentrations of monsters, they did it from behind the vanguard while being guarded by Tiona and Ryuu. Though with all the firepower, the poor monsters did not stand much of a chance.

Of course, a reservation was also made for Udaesus, which recently respawned. After a short potion break before reaching the throne room, Ais and Bell again flew towards the floor boss.

As if Udaesus remembered Bell and Ais, it did not waste time and soon drew its huge black sword. Seeing the danger, Ais kept an even larger distance away. Five firebolt-ariel firestorms were quickly launched at the monster, which damaged the boss to a reasonable degree. Seeing that more power was needed, Ais flew away from the monster while Bell charged argonaut for 2 minutes. Once ready, they headed back and launched a 2 minute charged firebolt-ariel attack. The damage exploded the black sword and the monster's left arm.

Being his ever conservative self, Finn thought the battle was closed than he liked. So he called out to Ais to withdraw. After they rejoined the group, Lefiya used Riveria's Wynn Fimbulvetr. The frozen monster was then busted into little pieces by Bete, 2 amazons and the 4 Gulliver brothers. Falling back was frustrating for the hero side of Bell-kun.

Frustrated Bell-kun "Damn, it is difficult to leave at the height of the battle"

Finn "I understand, but we cannot afford something to happen to you. Especially when you are still early in your rehab"

Riveria "Bell-kun, please be patient. This expedition was set up to help with your recovery. So we have to maintain our discipline"

Bete "LOL, Bell is a man, and we are making him a calculating mouse!"

Finn "I am the one being the mouse. I am the mouse that controls the rabbit!"

Everyone laughed but the frustration in Bell-kun was starting to show.

Riveria to Finn "You do realize if the battle becomes close, he is not going to be able to hold back"

Gareth nodded "We will simply not allow that to happen. Even if we have to retreat."

Finn "Agreed"

They then set up camp in the throne room for the night. The next day, they continued their journey to the 50th floor. It was only 13 more floors, but there were many colosseums where Bell could use his firebolt while guarded by Ais, Tiona and Ryuu. The continuous use of magic was draining, even for a level 6, and required many recovery potions to continue. Still, the final portion of the mission was straight-forward, with the balor being unavailable. After reaching the 50th safe floor, they set up camp to have dinner and stayed the night. This was the highlight of the trip so a small feast was prepared.

The next morning, the group headed back after a short 'tour' of the 50th floor. The babysitting tactic in the return trip would be the same, only allowing Bell-kun to using magic against monsters of level 3 or higher.

They did visit a lot of colosseums, and even their large supply of recovery potions were running low. Thus more breaks were needed, and they took their time returning. The first day of the return trip, they only went 5 floors and spent the night on the 43th floor.

The next day, they stopped to spend the night on the 36th floor. A lot of monsters were killed, as even Bell and Ais had to start carrying large bags of magic stones themselves.

The following day, without any more colosseums, there was not much resistance for the 1st level adventurers in the vanguard. They quickly got to the 24th floor for lunch. Afterward, Bell, Ais and Tiona were once again in the vanguard.

Bell-kun as he cuts apart several mermen "Great, I get to fight again!"

Ais "The boy likes it rough"

Tiona "I guess you should know..."

Ais "?"

Riveria "I guess she is still innocent... lol"

As Bell, Ais and Tiona plowed through the level 2 monsters, there was minimal resistance as they advanced back to the 18th floor. After a short break, they continued and reached the surface in time for a bath before dinner.

As Bell and Ryuu reached the Hearth Manor, they realized they were gone for 5 days, and their familia were really happy to see them. After a long bath, Hestia updated Bell and Ryuu.

Bell-kun's stats were unusual. All magic went up by over 200 points, while his other stats stayed at 0.

Hestia "I think this makes sense. It means your other stats will not increase until you have fully recovered."

Bell-kun "What about the magic"

Hestia "I think we will find out. I think it will keep going up. We may see your magic at SSSSS or higher before you level"

Bell-kun "Goddess, here is the payment for the remainder of your debt."

Hestia "$$$, thank you Bell-kun, but I will still work."

Bell-kun "Yes, that is good but you don't have to work as much"

Hestia "Thank you Bell-kun"

It was time for dinner. It was short notice, but they were meeting Loki, Freya and Hephaestus at the Hostess again.

There was much to be happy about. It was a safe quick and profitable trip.

Hestia "I want to thank everyone as my debt is paid up."

Hephaestus "I want to thank everyone also!"

Loki "Hestia, actually with your debt paid up, may be you should not be working in the potato stand any more"

Freya "Yes, it is too exposed"

Hestia "But I enjoy working!"

Hephaestus "As Bell-kun's goddess, you are the source of his power. You are putting him at risk also."

Loki "There is a reason why we all have a high level adventurer with us when we leave our home"

Hestia "Well, I do not want to put my children at risk"

Loki "Especially with how high profile Bell-kun is now..."

Hestia "I also want to announces that Bell-kun's magic stats have gone up 200 points, though the other stats remain at 0."

Airmid "I have examined Bell-kun. There has been some good recovery. He is now similar to strength as an early-mid level 4. So he still has 3 levels to recover, and those levels may take longer. But he recovered about 2 levels in less than 2 months. That is great progress"

Airmid "Since Bell-kun has the typical strength and speed of a level 4. So he would be sparring with Raul at level 4 and Ryuu at level 5. I think Ais, Tiona and Tione will also continue to spar with him"

Freya "That is great. My Gulliver brothers can also participate when Bell-kun is ready."

Freya also announced "Ottar has planned another mission to the 50th floor. It will take place in 3 weeks."

Airmid "Given his progress, I would approve hand-to-hand combat with monsters up to level 3."

The dinner was then served. And everyone was in a great mood. As Bell looked around him, there was his goddess who was finally happy again now that he is recovered, there was his beautiful girlfriend who he saved and is radiant around him, there were his familia members who he also loved, there were all those beautiful girls who all kissed him a lot, there were his allies who he will be going into battle with. He was finally back, and things are moving forward again after the near-death experience.

It was a new beginning for Bell and for Ais, when their time was almost taken away from them. He now can kiss Ais as much as he wanted. He now has the approval to date any many girls as he wants. He is now the unquestioned hero of orario. He now had the trust of all the adventurers and deities. He is now expected to be the center of a force that will kill the OEBD.

How Bell recovers his strength, how he manages the time when he is weakened, how he starts growing to level 7 and beyond, how he battles the OEBD, how he gets to the bottom of the dungeon, how he wins peace with the xenos, how he handles his wedding and his marriage and kids... those are for another story another time.

**\- THE END OF THIS STORY - **

**\- Thank you for reading! -**


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